Discussion: View Thread

Pls see embedded.
>
> Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 08:40:40 -0500
> From: Bryn Parry <bryn.parry@SOLENT.AC.UK>
> Subject: Re: Organizaion as CAS
[...]
>
> The flock of birds example has been used to demonstrate how the system can
influence an individual - but, also, how it is possible for an individual to
> influence the surrounding components of its system

Which example? I am familiar with the oft-cited BOIDS simulation. In BOIDS
the "system" did not influence an individual, only the individual's nearest
neighbors were the source of individual decision. And the individual did
not influence the surrounding components, only the surrounding components
voluntarily were influenced. The other oft-cited birds example is
Coleridge's poem about starlings circa several hundred years ago but it made
no claims about the causes of the pattern dynamics he noted.

Yes, Mexican Waves and Drama Theory are significant for demonstrating mutual
influences. However, can you cite any such activities in Management
Education academia that educe learning about human interactions?
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 08:44:51 +1000
> From: Gray Southon <gsouthon@ozemail.com.au>
> Subject: Re: Organizaion as CAS
[...]
> However, I wonder whether "second order implicit operators" does us
> justice. We essentially consititute the system (they are not just
operators
> on the system) and engage with many broad-ranging integrative ideologies.
> We also have extra-ordinary pattern processing capabilities that we have
> very little understanding of. I see nothing in the physical or biological
> basis for CAS theory that represents these issues in any way.

My use of the notion, operators, reflected mathematics constructs and my
intent was to note that each human is an operator on others. I agree that
humans are not just operators on a system.

A group of humans can be seen as a set of co-operators (perhaps not
cooperating in the usual sense of the word). By second order I mean that
the effect of one operator on its neighbors is not linear (not an equal and
opposite reaction) but is energized in proportion to the second order of
perceptioins. "He came on too strong" is a prevalent expression of this
phenomenon.

Jack,

" can you cite any such activities in Management Education academia that
educe learning about human interactions"?

Group think, Bulling, framing induced distortions...


Cordially,

Esteban





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"In BOIDS the "system" did not influence an individual, only the
individual's nearest neighbors were the source of individual decision. And
the individual did not influence the surrounding components, only the
surrounding components voluntarily were influenced."
______________________

It was not the BOIDS programme that I referred to, specifically - I've seen
several commentators address this topic, from different perspectives and
literatures.

Taking BOIDS, though, since each bird is influenced by immediate neighbours,
who are [in turn] influenced by their immediate neighbours, dynamic forces
ripple through the flock - some will influence the overall flock and some
will be influenced by the flock's
overall position.

This is why `Senstitive Dependence on Initial Conditions' is a big thing in
CASs and why its important to discern if any bounded instability met is
influenced by an Attractor or a Strange Attractor. The angle of an
individual bird will dictate how it and its immediate neighbours] respond to
a specific ripple - often the tiniest of differences in angle having a huge
impact on the overall flock. In simulations, like BOIDS, the three
governing rules take the place of the voluntary action that you mention - in
the real world, we have voluntary action and can use our knowledge /
perception to increase our influence on the overall system.

Some commentators have taken such an approach when looking at the actions/
motives / awareness of different players in each of the key phases of Bubble
cycles [such as Tulipmania, or the UK's 1986 stockmarket crash] - e.g. the
decision of long-term
investors to cease investing acting as a catalyst to
trigger collapse in the [already unstable]stock market. I've even seen an
analysis of D-Day that marks out the actions of one group of Rangers, on a
single beach, as influencing the commands given to the decisive landing wave
of troops.

Journals like New Scientist often have reports on systems research that are
applied to management and knowledge management, One on how ants feed
information to each other would seem to have several applications within
education - either as case study material or in looking anew at the takeup
of information in our libraries and throughout our curricula.

"There's an Ant in my Phone - would you let ants run the digital
superhighways of the future ?", New Scientist, 24th January, 1998

Bryn [Great name! (At least with some pronunciations).],
I was intrigued by the "Ant in My Phone" reference and am
providing its url for other members of our virtual community similarly
tantalized:
http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/ai/antinmyphone.jsp
Cybercollaborating,
Charles Wankel
Mg-Ed-Dv List Director

-----Original Message-----
.....

Journals like New Scientist often have reports on systems research that
are
applied to management and knowledge management. One on how ants feed
information to each other would seem to have several applications within
education - either as case study material or in looking anew at the
takeup
of information in our libraries and throughout our curricula.

"There's an Ant in my Phone - would you let ants run the digital
superhighways of the future ?", New Scientist, 24th January, 1998