Toronto, Ontario; Hämeenlinna, Finland; Helsinki, Finland
Booth Avenue: Lightning struck tree, three fire trucks for house south of us. Hose filled briefly to extinguish for in tall tree. Electrical power to the block is off, wondering if transformer is impacted. Heavy rain is subsiding. (Booth Avenue, Riverside district, Toronto, Ontario) 20170804Copenhagen Airport: Enjoying the wood floors at the Copenhagen Airport, en route to Helsinki. I prefer the Danish style on the short connections, I should come for a real visit sometime. (Copenhagen Airport, Denmark) 20170809Tikkurila:. Suburban hub where airport rail ring connects to main northbound intercity line towards Tampere. Large station connects with buses, many shops inside. Half hour wait was made longer by train 30 minutes behind schedule. Might have hopped on commuter train instead, but tickets are specific to times. .(Tikkurila, Finland) 20170809Visamaki: First workshop for Open Häme project since its official funding, discussing plans for open data activities in the region. Meeting conducted mostly in Finnish, my presentation a theoretical break in English. (HAMK UAS Visamäki C-Building, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20170810Verkatehdas: Elomessut weekend fair for Kanta-Häme region, at the civic centre. Live performances, and kiosk tents from local associations and businesses. Wide cross section of local residents in a small town by the river. (Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20170812Kotkankatu: Fusion cooking with Finnish homemade vintage apple cider added to Korean sweet potato noodles in vegan japchae. Bean curd sticks with shitake mushrooms and oyster sauce are classic Chinese monk food. Last time I made mapo tofu for MT and PT, it included the ground pork that they now prefer to avoid. Cooking in this household is always a team sport. (Kotkankatu, Hameenlinna, Finland) 20170812Verkkokauppa: Sunday shopping in busy store, slow moves from waiting for salesperson, to roaming store with pager until merchandise brought upstairs, to long check out line. Friend amused as I squeezed in some extra questions of clerk out of order, as a rudeness excusable to foreigners but not locals. Computer parts to prepare laptop for another year behind the Chinese firewall. (Verkkokauppa, Tyynenmerenkatu, Helsinki, Finland) 20170813Harald Herlin Learning Centre: University library was been remodelled as more of a central gathering place for students. Coffee stand at entry level overlooks two-story atrium into work spaces below, with cloud-like light fixtures suspended from the ceiling. The streets outside are still under construction, with a new building at the hub. (Harald Harlin Learning Centre, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland) 20170814Metropolia Arabianranta: Building ties across institutions, regions, nations. Localized funding can still support global projects. Meeting in previous Media Factory, temporary space for one year as the university reconfigures prior spaces. (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Arabianranta, Helsinki, Finland) 20170816Vantaa Gate 22: Mobile installation of white sheets above an airport gate moves slowly with the air flows higher in the terminal. Walked from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in hopes of viewing the advertised art installations at Gate 31, but aborted that plan when the long linear nature of the terminal emperiled catching my departure from Gate 15. There used to be an art installation in Terminal 1, now since replaced by a boring row of carrals for working. (Helsinki Airport, Vantaa, Finland) 201708173600 Steeles Ave. E.: IBM Master Clock built circa 1945 in Endicott, NY, on display in the corridor outside IBM Canada HQ module A2. Noticed artifact on a “take your father to work day” informally with my son, as I had a lunch meeting with a friend. (IBM Canada Ltd., 3600 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, Ontario) 20170823 Edward Gardens: Renewal of vows for the 32nd time. Fountain was drained of water. Temperature was coolest that we remember. Park was full with concert listeners for jazz group. (Edward Gardens, Don Mills, Ontario) 20170824Edward Gardens: Ducks flocking to creek bank for snacks. Most paths from gardens at higher level closed, blocked for maintenance. Some bridges closed due to recovery from high waters. (Edward Gardens, Don Mills, Ontario) 20170824 Yorkville Park: Strolling south on Bellair Avenue, the urban park is lit up by green mist-emitting light columns between rows of trees. We usually don’t frequent this high-end neighbourhood. Unusually, we went for a movie on a Saturday night, with a one-week promotion of Tuesday night pricing. (Yorkville Park, Bellair Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20170826
Carroll Street: Public art launch with hoop dancer Nimkii Osawamick, celebrating Tkaranto Past / Tkaranto Future mural. West and south walls of The Edwin building had painting concept led by artist Odinamaad, in partnership with Chief Lady Bird and Dave Monday Oguorie, collaborating with Traditional Wisdom Keeper Philip Cote and youth participants from Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre. Support by Riverside BIA with City of Toronto StreetARToronto program. (Carroll Street, Riverside District, Toronto, Ontario) 20170827
For the November 2023 Systems Thinking Ontario session, historian and policy advisor Dr. Michael Bonner was invited for an interview by Zaid Khan. In organizing the sessions, we’re trying to avoid the trap of systems thinking becoming a discipline, through learning with a sweeping-in process. The session opened on a map of The Sassanid Empire […]
It the systems sciences are an open system, then learning more and more about systems of interest are foundational. This was called a sweep-in process by C. West Churchman, in the heritage of Edgar A. Singer. Jr. A concise definition is found in the entry on “Experimentalism” in the International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics: […]
For the Relating Systems and Design RSD12 symposium on October 14, 2023, members of the Explainers subgroup of the Systems Changes Learning Circle conducted an in-person workshop on “Explaining Systems Changes Learning: Metaphors and translations” at OCADU in Toronto. RSD12 included both in-person sessions and online sessions. In the planning phase for the symposium, our […]
Judith Rosen agreed to give an online presentation for the Systems Thinking Ontario meeting in October 2023, after we converted her in-person meeting at OCADU in August into a discussion circle. Channelling the anticipatory systems approach of her father, mathematical biologist Robert Rosen, Judith has been extended those ideas in her own continuing observation of […]
An article related to the ISSS plenary talk of July 2022 has now passed the peer review process, and is published in early view for Systems Research and Behavioral Science. It should shortly be printed in the November issue of SRBS that serves as the General Systems Yearbook. Update on Nov. 22, 2023: A full-text, […]
In a return to original Systems Thinking Ontario format, we reviewed an (old) systems thinking paper from 1998. Mohammed Badrah served as reviewer. Kelly Okamura was the discussant. The author, David Hawk, was available during the discussion period for extended knowledge. As compared to prior Systems Thinking Ontario sessions with the word “entropy” in the […]
Following the first day lecture on Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1 for the Global University for Sustainability, Keekok Lee continued on a second day on some topics: * Anatomy as structure; physiology as function (and process); * Process ontology, and thing ontology; * Qi ju as qi-in-concentrating mode, and qi san as qi-in-dissipsating mode; and […]
The philosophy of science underlying Classical Chinese Medicine, in this lecture by Keekok Lee, provides insights into ways in which systems change may be approached, in a process ontology in contrast to the thing ontology underlying Western BioMedicine. Read more ›
In conversation, @zeynep with @ezraklein reveal authentic #SystemsThinking in (i) appreciating that “science” is constructed by human collectives, (ii) the west orients towards individual outcomes rather than population levels; and (iii) there’s an over-emphasis on problems of the moment, and…Read more ›
In the question-answer period after the lecture, #TimIngold proposes art as a discipline of inquiry, rather than ethnography. This refers to his thinking On Human Correspondence. — begin paste — [75m26s question] I am curious to know what art, or…Read more ›
How might our society show value for the long term, over the short term? Could we think about taxation over time, asks @carlotaprzperez in an interview: 92% for 1 day; 80% within 1 month; 50%-60% tax for 1 year; zero tax for 10 years.Read more ›
For the @ArchFoundation, #TimIngold distinguishes outcome-oriented making from process-oriented growing, revisiting #MartinHeidegger “Building Dwelling Thinking”. Organisms are made; artefacts grow. The distinction seems obvious, until you stop to ask what assumptions it contains, about the inside and outside of things…Read more ›
The selection of readings in the “Introduction” to Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2, Penguin (1981), edited by Fred E. Emery, reflects a turn from 1969 when a general systems theory was more fully entertained, towards an urgency towards changes in the world that were present in 1981. Systems thinking was again emphasized in contrast […]
In reviewing the original introduction for Systems Thinking: Selected Readings in the 1969 Penguin paperback, there’s a few threads that I only recognize, many years later. The tables of contents (disambiguating various editions) were previously listed as 1969, 1981 Emery, System Thinking: Selected Readings. — begin paste — Introduction In the selection of papers for this […]
In a recording of the debate between Michael Quinn Patton and Michael C. Jackson on “Systems Concepts in Evaluation”, Patton referenced four concepts published in the “Principles for effective use of systems thinking in evaluation” (2018) by the Systems in Evaluation Topical Interest Group (SETIG) of the American Evaluation Society. The four concepts are: (i) […]
How might the quality of an action research initiative be evaluated? — begin paste — We have linked our five validity criteria (outcome, process, democratic, catalytic, and dialogic) to the goals of action research. Most traditions of action research agree on the following goals: (a) the generation of new knowledge, (b) the achievement of action-oriented […]
After 90 minutes on phone and online chat with WesternUnion, the existence of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland is denied, so I can’t send money from Canada. TicinoTurismo should be unhappy. The IT developers at Western Union should be dissatisfied that customer support agents aren’t sending them legitimate bug reports I initially tried the […]
