The final program and abstract book including the conference schedule for ISSS2009 can now be downloaded from CONFERENCE PROGRAM BOOK (140 pages, 4.8 MB).

The CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (11 pages, 75kb) can be downloaded as a quick reference.

Registration will open on Sunday 12th July, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the lobby of the Abel Smith Building on the St Lucia Campus of University of Queensland, Brisbane.

During that afternoon, there will be two workshops available, and these will be followed at 5 p.m. by the conference opening reception in Building 14 (General Purpose North 4) in the Terrace Room.

The first day of the conference will begin at 9 a.m. on July 13th in the Abel Smith Lecture Hall.

Please download the schedule and if you have questions, please contact isssoffice@dsl.pipex.com

 ISSS 2009 Brisbane

International Network for Systems Education

Workshop

Wednesday 15 July 2009 13:30 to 5 pm (During ISSS 2009 conference in Brisbane)

At the last meeting of the ISSS in Madison a Chair of the International Committee for Systems Education was appointed (the under-signed). However, there is not yet an official committee. Our intention is to establish such a committee during ISSS 2009 in Brisbane, by creating a network that will represent systems educators around the world.

You are hereby invited to attend and participate in the Systems Education Workshop to be held on Wednesday 15 July 2009 during the conference.

Three short presentations on the a systems education matrix created during the 2008 Fuschl discussions (Professor Ockie Bosch), how systems education in Vietnam developed from “nothing to excitement” (Professor Hoang TRI) and Systems Education at The University of Queensland (Professor Kambiz Maani) will be followed by a facilitated session to

·       Establish a network (involving people/institutions who attend)

·       Define steps towards actively extending the network

·       Determine how the network will operate, e.g.

-      sharing of knowledge and tools?

-      sharing of course material?

-      availability of web-based e-courses?

-      summer Schools in different localities?

-      systems training in industry and communities (creating a demand where necessary)?

·       Enhance the ISSS website for improving communication and networking and to serve as a major mechanism for keeping the International Committee for Systems Education fully active and alive.

·       With the Systems Education Matrix as a basis, determine broad guidelines for curriculum development for instilling systems skills in different types of students (from helping reductionist scientists to contextualize their work in the bigger picture to systems integrators and pure systems scientists.  

 The participation of all people interested in systems education is essential to achieve the above. Your attendance will therefore be highly appreciated

Professor Ockie Bosch

Head

School of Integrative Systems, The University of Queensland, Australia

ISSS and IFSR Chair of International Committee for Systems Education

Three workshops are planned before the ISSS2009 conference in July. For more detailed information click here.

1. Systems Thinking for Complex Problem Solving

Presenters:

Professor Kambiz Maani, Chair in Systems Thinking and Practice - School of Integrative Systems, University of Queensland, AUS

Professor John Bliss, Oregon State University, USA

Dr Carl Smith, School of Integrative Systems, UQ, AUS

Professor Ockie Bosch, Head, School of Integrative Systems, UQ, AUS

Venue:

Collaborative Learning Centre

Room 219 Building 14 - St Lucia Campus, The University of Queensland

Workshop Brief

This workshop introduces Systems Thinking as an integrating paradigm and set of tools for complex problem solving in general, and natural resource management and sustainability in particular. The workshop integrates Systems Thinking theory and tools in the context of a real-life case. The selected case attempts to address policy, planning and organisational issues related to sustainable tourism in Cambodia using integrated and systemic frameworks. It is expected that key officials from Cambodia will participate as informants for this workshop.

Thus, over 2 days, workshop participants will be exposed to and engage in a real multi dimensional decision-making/problem-solving challenge. The case will be used as a learning platform throughout the workshop.

Please email mlmoore@uq.edu.au for further information and costs, and a booking form.

Early-bird discounted registration is still available for the ISSS2009 conference in Brisbane, but this discount will expire in two weeks time, on May 1, 2009. Please register by the end of April 30, 2009 to be sure not to miss these savings! Click on the Registration link in the Quickpaths menu under Brisbane 2009 to register and complete payment online. 

Online Payment

On-line registration and payment for Brisbane 2009 delegates is now available.

Please click here: OnLine Registration

New tour information has been added to the Tourist Attractions and Tours page of the Brisbane Conference. http://isss.org/world/en/brisbane-2009-tourist-attractions-tours

These are offered by Adventure Tours, and they will also be offering a special arrangement to take people from Sydney on July 10 for a three day sightseeing trip by coach, including two nights accommodation, arriving at the conference by July 12. See the full details on the conference pages and if you are interested in these tours, you must contact the company directly by emailing fiona@adventuretours.com.au to make a booking.

If you would like to purchase a printed copy of the ISSS2008 Conference Proceedings from the conference in Madison, Wisconsin, please go to the Publications page.

http://isss.org/world/en/bulletins

These proceedings are now available through an arrangement with Curran Associates to print on demand paper copies of the CDROM proceedings. These are especially useful for library subscriptions.

It is time again to ask for submissions of short notes or research reports, and other items of interest, for the upcoming ISSS 2009 General Systems Bulletin to be published in January 2009.

Short papers/research notes should be no longer than 1000 words.

ALSO, other items of interest are welcome for the membership section such as future conferences, calls for papers, employment announcements, new courses, etc...

Please email to isssoffice@dsl.pipex.com

Or by post to:
ISSS Office
47 Southfield Road
Pocklington
York YO42 2XE
United Kingdom

Please send all submissions to arrive no later than December 15th 2008

Origin and Purpose of the ISSS

The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is among the first and oldest organizations devoted to interdisciplinary inquiry into the nature of complex systems, and remains perhaps the most broadly inclusive. The Society was initially conceived in 1954 at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport. In collaboration with James Grier Miller, it was formally established as an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1956. Originally founded as the Society for General Systems Research, the society adopted its current name in 1988 to reflect its broadening scope.

The initial purpose of the society was "to encourage the development of theoretical systems which are applicable to more than one of the traditional departments of knowledge," with the following principal aims:

• to investigate the isomorphy of concepts, laws, and models in various fields, and to help in useful transfers from one field to another;
• to encourage the development of adequate theoretical models in areas which lack them;
• to eliminate the duplication of theoretical efforts in different fields; and
• to promote the unity of science through improving the communication among specialists.

In the intervening years, the ISSS has expanded its scope beyond purely theoretical and technical considerations to include the practical application of systems methodologies to problem solving. Even more importantly, it has provided a forum where scholars and practitioners from across the disciplinary spectrum, representing academic, business, government, and non-profit communities, can come together to share ideas and learn from one another.

As in previous years, audio and written retrospectives will be available from this year's annual meeting in Madison, WI, USA, held July 13-18, 2008.
As soon as this material is available, an announcement will be made on this page and through the email announce list for ISSS.

If you're new to the ISSS, you can read about is origins and purposes on the About the ISSS page.

ISSS World is now the main content platform for the society. There are now only two userid/passwords for the society: one for ISSS World (that also works on ProjectsISSS), and one for JournalsISSS (abstract submissions for the annual meeting).

The old web site is available temporarily at http://isss.org/index-old.html.

The ISSS World web site is one of the places where members convene, but it doesn't have to be the only place!

For those who use Facebook, you can follow this link to the Systems Science group, or just search for "Systems Science" and add yourself.

We'll be less formal over there, for anyone who wants to leave exchange ideas or have discussions.  This is an experiment in alternative forms of communication, for anyone that wants to try it out.

David Ing, VP of Communications and Systems Education.

The ISSS logo, derived from the integral sign originally used by the founders of our society, illustrates the society's primary interest in integration and synthesis and can be used to demonstrate these principles. This version of the logo, adopted by ISSS in 1997, was designed by Thomas M. Mandel, the founding webmaster of ISSS.org.