Repository | Book

The term "sustainability" has entered the lexicon of many academic disciplines and fields of professional practice, but to date does not appear to have been seriously consid­ ered within the systems community unless, perhaps, under other guises. Within the wider community there is no consensus around what sustainability means with some authors identifying 70 to 100 definitions of the term. Some see sustainability as the precise and quantifiable outcomes of biological systems whilst others see it in terms of processesrele­ vant to personal and organizational change with the potential to effect changes in our rela­ tionships with out environments. Internationally it has been increasingly used in relation to the term "sustainable development"--a term popularised by the Brundland Commis­ of definitions sion's report in 1987 entitled "Our Common Future. " Despite this diversity and polarised perception on its utility, unlike many other popular terms, it has not had its time and subsided quietly from our language. It is therefore timely for the systems com­ munity to explore the relationship between systems and sustainability in a range of con­ texts. Participants in this, the 5th International Conference of the United Kingdom Systems Society (UKSS), have been invited to reflect critically on the contribution of sys­ tems thinking and action to sustainability-to the sustainability of personal relationships, the organizations in which live and work, and our "natural" environment.

Full citation:

Learning to persist

Bawden Richard

1-5

Politics for sustainability

Blunden Margaret

7-13

Requirements analysis for information systems

Mumford Enid

15-20

Using systems for sustainability in the context of agenda 21

Blackmore Christine

21-26

Coping with environmental uncertainty by social learning

Carr Susan; Levidow Les

27-31

Putting sustainability into practice in agricultural research for development

Cox P. G.; MacLeod N. D.; Shulman A. D.

33-38

Proletkul't, revolution, and tektology

Dudley Peter; Pustylnik Simona

39-42

The integration of systemic and scientific thinking in the development of an innovative process for environmental management

Frederickson James; Frederickson Norah

43-49

The practical use of systems methodologies in environmental management

Hutchinson W. E.

51-56

Sustainability and systems thinking

Jeffrey Paul; Seaton Roger; Lemon Mark

57-62

Sustainable intervention

Hua Jin Wei

63-66

Sustainable transport development in developing countries

Jotin Khisty C.

67-72

The assessment and management of wildlife areas

Lane Andrew; Oreszczyn Sue

73-77

Emergent practice in agricultural research

McClintock David; Kersten Stephany; Ison Ray

79-83

Movement and sustainability

Molderez Ingrid

85-90

The technology of sustainable agricultural systems

Morris R. M.

91-95

Sustainability and viability

Stewart Neil; Lewis Gerard

97-102

The invisible practitioner or the holistic practitioner?

Armson Rosalind

103-108

Occupational therapy

Booy Martin; Boniface Gail

109-113

If system thinkers are all so smart, why ain't we rich?

Crossley Peter

115-118

Sustainability of systems thinking and practice in organisations

Drinan J. P.

119-124

Modern academic myths

Fortune Joyce; Hughes John

125-130

In what sense do systems exist?

Frické Martin

131-136

Systemic approaches and contingent actions in consultancy intervention

Hassall John

137-140

Modelling the process of deciding in real world problems

Marouda-Chatjoulis Athena; Humphreys Patrick

141-146

Doing research in the social domain

Vahl Martha

147-152

Virtual self, virtual mind, virtual world

White Elizabeth

153-156

Critical theory, Carl Jung, and symbo-construction in soft systems rich pictures

Campbell Williams Mark

157-162

Where is the observer in it strategy and systems?

Armstrong Steve; Ward Aidan

163-169

A systems view of teaching and learning

Bell Simon; Lane Andrew

171-176

Freeing lifelong learning systems from teaching systems thinking

Brown Sylvia M.

177-183

Evaluating a learning organisations initiative

Brown Sylvia M.

185-190

Designing sustainable sporting organisations

Davies John

191-197

Life-long learning ok!

Dyer Gordon

199-204

Charting change—the use of systems concepts in distance learning based management education across Europe

Farmer Eion; Holloway Jacky

205-210

Application of a data mining system as an aid to organisational learning

Ferguson Colquhoun-John

211-215

Towards a proposal to study the policy making process at the basic educational level in Colombia

Gil Nidia

217-220

The contribution of evaluation to organizational learning

Gregory Amanda

221-226

Exploring parallels between Quaker beliefs and systems theory

Hebel-Holehouse Misha

227-231

Systems, crafts, and sustainability

Howell J. G.; Gammack J. G.

233-238

Autopoiesis

Johannessen Jon-Arild

239-243

Systems thinking in U.K. film units

Ludwin Linda; Wield David

245-249

Bridging the "output-outcome" gap in sustainability R and D

MacLeod N. D.; Shulman A. D.

251-256

Learner-centred evaluation of systems, systems courses, and future needs in systems learning

Maiteny Paul; Ison Ray

257-262

The learning cycle-action learning

The WL Group 1996 ; Marrington Penny; Meek Jerry; Moscardini Alfredo; Rowe Jim

263-270

A conceptual framework for self-organization and merging processes in social systems

Minati Gianfranco; Pessa Eliano

271-275

We've said it's a learning organisation but does it know (and what is it anyway)?

Murray Joy

277-283

Time for a new language, a new discourse

McMillan Parsons Elizabeth

285-291

Towards information systems sustainability in community organisations using an organisational learning approach

Plant Nick

293-298