3132 research outputs found
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Radiant Circles—Cybernetic Musings on Resonant Forms
Get PDFThrough resonance, works of art and design are centring. In openness to expansion, they grant agency. They create closure and consummation but never stasis. They are circular.
This session explores how Gordon Pask’s ‘conversation’ as aesthetic experience initiates ontogenetic resilience via processes that devalue established hierarchies of oppression. In the process, new ecological values are instigated and cultivated
SOU SOU: Supporting transitions through ritual, friendship and play
Get PDFThis work aims to act as a case study for how we might establish different conventions in how colleagues and communities of practice convene to make progress on large-scale transformation or systems change initiatives. We propose a small, intentional, relational unit with the core elements of commitment over time, thematic cycles, events led by contributors taking turns within a given cycle, a safe place to lead and participate in different practices, opportunities to experience and learn together, and ritual as a wrapper around it all. In this case study, we share a path using the construct of a “Sou Sou”–a group savings club–over several yearly cycles in which the value contributed has been both literal and metaphoric currency toward a shared pool of practice and the pleasure of growing friendships that enrich the lives and competencies of the contributors.
The authors believe others leading change initiatives or working through transitions themselves might find inspiration in a ritual-based approach that amplifies the skills of the contributors while also providing an ongoing platform for creativity and fun. This presentation is about how we might support ourselves and others in transitions through ritual, friendship, and play, where relationships are the essential element in any system change, and the pleasure they provide in sustaining energy for ongoing transitions
Design For/In/Of Time
Get PDFAs a future-focused activity, design is always about time. In this talk, I distinguish temporal stances and explore them through a three-part framework: design for, in, and of time. I contemplate this for/in/of framework as follows. To design for time is to aim for a particular temporal experience as a desired outcome or emergent facility of one’s design efforts. Artefacts like clocks and cathedrals, for example, each anchor human activity systems that constrain and afford temporal awareness, with very different results. Meanwhile, service and user experience designs often aim for temporal values such as convenience and efficiency. Next, given that each of us lives in time, I describe an appreciation of one’s design-in-time stance as cultivating a reflexive awareness of one’s temporal positionalities, perhaps thereby avoiding presumptive pitfalls of individual and socio-cultural temporocentrisms, such as Eurocentric historical periodisations. Third, with a design-of-time approach, one focuses attention on time itself, that is, on the potential variety and malleability of temporal compositions, perhaps by facilitating self-reflective examinations of temporal experiences, metaphors, and values. In exploring these stances and their interrelationships, I aim to elicit questions and ruminations on time-design and on how one’s design for/in/of time might contribute to one’s purposes and presences; however, they are conceived and expressed
Every Schoolboy Should Know that Patterns are Connecting Patterns and Threads are connecting Threads
Get PDFThis article traces the influence of Gregory Bateson’s thought on the construction of a new epistemological, didactic and praxeological framework based on the systemic analysis of the Swahili territory and community, the observation of the use of the Environmental Genetic Code (EGC) systemic matrix by Master students of the architectural project studio “Conjuring Social and Natural Catastrophes in the Post-Covid Area” at ENSAPVS, and the questioning of the EGC during the RSD10 workshop “Weaving a Collective Intelligence Systemic Design Tool.”
This set of studies allowed the consolidation of the EGC matrix by reinforcing the realisation of the relationships and communications between creatura and pleroma, thwarting the very principle of a border, of a hierarchy between reigns and even more fundamentally requestioning its notion, opening a perspective towards epigenetics and biosemiotics thresholding disciplinary boundaries and fully embracing the inter-trans-poly-disciplinarity or post-disciplinarity that suits the paradigm of Post-Normal Science that allows us to grasp uncertainty and formulate effective and reasoned conceptions that support the connection and reliance between systemic research, design, policy-making and activism.
Systemic thinking is one step, but ecosystemic thinking, designing, and acting is the ultimate phase to achieve, establishing a symbiosis between humans, their productions and environmental conditions embodying the ARMSADA principle, moving out of predation, domination framework and embracing a collaborative mode of operation and existence. The change in mind thought demands the integration of complexity and tentacular thinking; in this maze, the Ariane’s thread is the work of Gregory Bateson, who has paved the way and laid the groundwork for pragmatic ecological intelligence
Feral Systemic Design: (re)wilding methods and methodology for systemic architectural design
Get PDFHow little can we design systems to design systemic—landscape—architectures? Do we need to map the system at all? Which media are most useful?
An analysis of the tools used by (re)wilding practices, here called feraling, reveals a mode of design that co-creates with existing socio-ecosystems and species. All these practices delegate part of the decisions to the emergence of ecosystems and species, as well as work with the knowledge embedded within them. They firstly let ecosystems be so that they can emerge, diversify and provide ecosystem services. Some control is present but to steer the evolution. Often, they use species to guide this systemic evolution—seeding, creating fear, and killing as needed. They time actions precisely around regular monitoring.
Each of these five tools of feral practices uses a broad range of leverage points assembled in dynamic constellations. Systems are conceived in multiple ways, primarily as living organisms, ideally working in harmony or at least towards common goals. But sometimes, they are simplified as machines and/or abstracted into categories to allow conceptualisation.
An impressive level of trust in the systems is displayed. This is a refreshing and optimistic approach in our anxious times, weighed down by the weight of responsibilities to alleviate climate change and reduce the collapse in biodiversity that we—humans—both create. These practices seem to show that we need to co-create more with the ecosystems we are nested within, delegate to them what they can do, and learn to let them be. And this requires us to simultaneously relax our desire for control and engage closely with the processes live, as well as accept our role as meta-apex-predator
Identity and Digital Spaces: A cooperative experience
Get PDFA case study on the design of digital identity and trust networks for a cooperative ecosystem.
Democratically governed, and collectively-owned cooperatives and modern digital platform cooperatives have been unable to access the plentiful capital investment available to established powerful platforms such as Amazon, Airbnb, Uber and Spotify. Guided by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) ‘Principle 6’, cooperatives are wired to cooperate, not compete with each other, but in practice, this advantageous cooperation between cooperatives has been difficult to realise or fund. Despite the good intent, silos have persisted.
To grow the cooperative sector as a whole, the connections between cooperatives need to be efficient and focused on mutual value-creation. Connections cannot flourish without identification, discovery and trusted safe interaction. Co-op credentials is a project from a consortium of cooperatives seeking to provide an infrastructure of identity and trust for cooperatives and their members.
In this submission and work-in-progress paper, we explain the project as a story of collaboration within a complex ecosystem and present our experience in action research and co-design for a community of cooperatives.
The most important metric of growth “is not the increase in the number of users but the growth of the number of interactions between them.” (Hirel, 2016). Therefore, we have framed a very broad question for our action research:
“How can cooperatives cooperate better in order to improve their cooperative experience?”
We have kept the question as open as possible so that in the discussion, we can uncover more of the hidden, implicit opportunities for valuable interaction between cooperatives. We believe co-ownership and community participation are essential to the co-design process and that an adaptive, evolutionary approach to co-design is the way forward.
We expect the work of Bateson on “aphanipoiesis” and “Warm Data Labs” (Bateson, N. 2021) to be informative in our research and the design of our cooperative ecosystem. In particular, we will consider coalescence and the merging, mixing and fusing of context across diverse cooperatives from a variety of industrial, social and economic sectors
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)—Emerging Epidemic
Get PDFAccording to research by the PCOS Society, one in every ten women in India has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common endocrine system condition among women of reproductive age. When viewed holistically, PCOS is more than just an endocrine disorder; it impacts women’s quality of life like a pyramid scheme. It manifests itself physically as well as in mental health issues. At first glance, it will appear like a woman’s health issue, but PCOS concerns are deep-rooted in lifestyle and our society. There are multiple factors at play in the rising stats of PCOS. Thus, a systemic review of the whole ecosystem around PCOS helps understand the root cause of the problem.
In my systemic study, I attempted to dig deep into the PCOS system’s emerging behaviours and contributing factors. Early diagnosis and awareness about the syndrome could significantly reduce the rising cases. The emergence of PCOS has majorly contributed to a sedentary lifestyle. Doctors are the first step in the diagnosis and also hold the accountability and respect of all stakeholders, thus making them an excellent medium for information dissemination. The current study results suggest creating a systemic network of information dissemination that can generate awareness among newly diagnosed patients and sensitivity in society towards women with PCOS using doctors and existing organisations as mediums of communication
Transportation System Design for Indian National Parks
Get PDFThe project aims to design transportation systems for Indian national parks, focusing on enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and ecological conservation. The project recognizes the need for intervention in various aspects of transportation within national parks and aims to address them through innovative and holistic approaches.
Key areas of focus include the introduction of electric and hybrid vehicles, promoting eco-friendly and sustainable means of transportation, incorporating technology interventions, and ensuring the safety of wildlife and visitors. The project also emphasizes the importance of specialized vehicles for researchers, wildlife conservation, and law enforcement.
Furthermore, the project highlights the significance of constructing animal corridors, facilitating animal transportation for rehabilitation and relocation, and implementing surveillance systems for enhanced monitoring and protection. It also considers the provision of specialized vehicles for medical transport, spreading awareness, and patrolling purposes.
The project envisions the integration of centralized booking systems, maintenance and servicing of transportation infrastructure, and upgrades to safari vehicles to enhance visitor experiences. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for fire department vehicles, satellite imaging, and thermal cameras for effective management and emergency response in national parks.
Overall, the project aims to create a comprehensive and sustainable transportation system that aligns with the unique needs of Indian national parks, while ensuring the conservation of wildlife, promoting visitor safety, and providing enjoyable and educational experiences for all
Reconsidering Power and Place in Systemic Design: Strategies for scaling scree and scaling deep
Get PDFSystemic design practitioners, educators, and researchers are calling for design strategies that seek to scale systems change efforts through more participatory and transdisciplinary design and assessment practices. This paper responds to this call through a case study analysis of the Power and Place Collaborative. The Collaborative is a community-first, equity-centered, emergent, and situated educational approach to designing complex social systems change. Beginning in 2018 and formalized in the summer of 2020, the Collaborative has worked to catalyze, sustain, and scale social change through emergent design interventions that began with the recording, preserving, and presenting untold stories from across the local community. Initial collaborative efforts have led to community oral histories and digital stories, new cross-institutional programs and curricula, visual and multimedia mapping, public screenings, community, government, and educational workshops, art exhibits, walking tours, community dialogues, social media campaigns, open access, online archival platforms, and more. The design of this collaborative, its practices, and some initial mixed methods research findings are documented, highlighting the value of emergent, community-first transdisciplinary practices and relational, place-based immersion for fostering systems changes that scale deep and scree
The Model of Logical Paradox: Addressing design and double-bind communication in public services
Get PDFThis article introduces an understanding of double-bind communication based on cybernetic theory. It describes how a synthesised model of logical paradoxes can serve as a means for the system analysis of the double-bind communication inherent in the relationship between clients and service providers in public services. The study is positioned in the context of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). A double bind can be described as communication that is paradoxical in contexts where, for example, the client (in this study, the citizen seeking help in difficult life situations) encounters the dimensions of being disciplined and helped as two facets of a conversation with the service provider (in this study, a public servant representing a welfare provider).
We have explored communication sequences in citizen–public servant conversations in relation to cybernetic theory and the work of G. Bateson (1972) to illustrate the research on double-bind communication. The communication examined in this ongoing study is limited to a few standardised letters created by NAV and sent to clients when support for sick leave is about to cease. Thus, the study is concerned with how to recognise and understand double-bind communication in welfare services and service design in general and, as an extension, with how this understanding can inform the process of designing a mutually trustworthy communication and the relationship between the citizen and welfare provider. It is suggested that the model of logical paradoxes synthesised in this research can be introduced to design students. This will enable a wider understanding of double-bind functioning and, thereby, create a method to design for situations where double-bind communication is detected or unavoidable