Liebe Mitglieder der GK zwei weitere Informationen erreichten uns, die wir gerne an Sie weiterleiten: Dear Colleague I am writing today to let you know of several developments and updates regarding the ISCE Group's activities. This update includes details about the following: 1. Emergence:Complexity & Organization Annual Volume 6 - Now in print; 2. Emergence:Complexity & Organization Annual Volume 7 - Now in print; 3. 1st International Workshop on 'Storytelling and Complexity in Human Systems - Las Cruces October 27-29, 2006; 4. 3rd International Workshop on Complexity and Philosophy, 22-23 February 2007, Stellenbosch, South Africa; 5. 1st International Workshop on Complexity and Organizational Resilience, The Role of Complexity Thinking in Building and Sustaining Resilience in Dynamics Organizations, 24-25 May 2007 Pohnpei, Micronesia; 6. Issue 8.2 of Emergence: Complexity & Organization (E:CO) due soon _______________________________________ 1. E:CO Annual Volume 6 - Now in print: The second edition of Volume 6 of the Emergence, Complexity & Organization book series (ISBN 0976681455) which includes articles from Isabelle Stengers, Julie Klein, Sandra D. Mitchell, Glenda Eoyang, Bill McKelvey, William Sulis and many more, which explore a range of complexity-related topics from philosophical concerns through to the practical application of complexity ideas, concepts and frameworks in human organizations. Also included are a series of four reproductions of classical papers in the fields of complexity and systems: "Principles of Self-Organizing Systems" by Ross Ashby (originally published in 1962) "General Systems Theory: The Skeleton of Science" by Kenneth Boulding (originally published in 1956) "Science and Complexity" by Warren Weaver (originally published in 1948) "Emergence" by Stephen C. Pepper (originally published in 1926). This second edition has been completely repackaged with a new comprehensive index included. It contains 542 pages. A full list of contents is attached. This book is available through Amazon here, or through ISCE Publishing ( here) at a heavily discounted rate. 2. E:CO Annual Volume 7 - Now in print: This new collection includes articles from Max Boisot, Ken Baskin, Robert E. Ulanowicz, Heather Höpfl, Victoria Alexander, and many more. Also included are a series of four reproductions of classical papers in the fields of complexity and systems: "Futurology and the Future of Systems Analysis" by Ida R. Hoos (originally published in 1972), "A Form of Logic Suited for Biology" by Walter M. Elsasser (originally published in 1981), "Beyond Open Systems Models of Organization" by Louis R. Pondy (originally unpublished conference paper from 1976) and "The Architecture of Complexity" by Herbert A. Simon (originally published in 1962). It contains 592 pages. A full list of contents is attached. This book is available through Amazon here, or through ISCE Publishing ( here) at a heavily discounted rate. 3. 1st International Workshop on 'Storytelling and Complexity in Human Systems - Las Cruces October 27-29, 2006: The recent special issue of Emergence: Coherence and Organization on ‘complexity and storytelling’ suggested that the integration of these two areas of study could be more fruitful than even its co-editors expected. In fact, the articles in this issue indicate that a combination of the two approaches toward applying storytelling to human systems – retrospective sensemaking and antecedent variety-making – may provide a guide to the basic dynamics of all human systems. As a result, we invite you to join us in a unique interactive workshop, in association with the Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence, scheduled for October 27-29, 2006 in Historic Old Mesilla, NM. The question we will be exploring is: How fully can the dynamics of complex human systems be described as the emergent results of people enacting the stories they create to explain their interactions? Our early stage investigation into these issues presents a unique opportunity to exponentially expand work in the field. This small gathering of top pioneers in it will pursue the topic through their own engagement in retrospective-dialog as well as the dialogic that precedes sensemaking. Because of the intensive nature of this intellectual exploration, we are keeping attendance to 30. If the results are as provocative as we expect, we will also host a conference in Spring 2007, designed to accommodate more participants. A CUTTING-EDGE TOPIC Among the questions we hope to examine are: How do complexity studies suggest that human systems generate adaptive behavior through narrative and story? What, exactly, are the story and narrative equivalents of attractors? How do retrospective sensemaking and antecedent story variety-making interact as force and counterforce in complexity? In recent years, thinkers such as Karl Weick and David Boje have examined story and complexity in organizations from two vantage points. Weick stresses the retrospective sensemaking of experience and narrative-plots of coherence and control by which people story current experience to fit into past meaning structures. Boje emphasizes the variety-making and fragmenting aspects of story as people seek to transform their current experience into meaning structures that may be new. We believe the combination of these perspectives offers a revolutionary breakthrough in complexity thinking. What was surprising about the special issue of E:CO on this subject was the range of areas explored, which included proposals for articles on economics, healthcare, and law. Many of these proposals, as well as the finished articles, exhibited the excitement of discovery, where the dynamics involved are just becoming clear. The purpose of this workshop is to explore those dynamics – the theory behind them, the methodologies available, and the implications for a new praxis. To emphasize the sense of discovery, we are organizing the workshop in ways that Hugo Letiche, of the University of the Humanities, has called a Socratic Circle. AN INNOVATIVE FORMAT The Socratic Circle builds on the methodology of Plato’s Socratic dialogues. Like Plato’s dialogue, the Socratic Circle begins with individuals stating their positions so that the group can explore those positions and learn as much as possible from them. Unlike Plato’s dialogues, all members of the group are encouraged to questions each other and share their experience. This brings dialogue to the first level of being polyphonically dialogic. A Socratic Circle eliminates the authority of “experts” so that all participants have the opportunity to interact and learn from each other through questioning. Ideally, the workshop will allow participants to share their perceptions so that the group can evolve a variety of understandings. If this happens, the workshop may be able to give us the basics for a study of the dynamics of human social systems as storytelling entities. From these beginnings, we would like to generate, first, a book of essays exploring the theory, methodology, and results of study spotlighted by this gathering. Second, we anticipate a follow-up conference to further explore these issues. To encourage the emergence of a variety of understandings, the workshop will be structured as a self-organizing experience. As a result, we will have only a few formal presentations to provoke our explorations. We begin in dialogue, a discussion intended to explore, rather than prove. We assume that even our most valid positions might be incomplete. As a result, we will encourage participants to ask each other about positions they disagree with, rather than arguing them. (After all, it’s always possible to misstate one’s position or to misunderstand the position of another.) In this way, we can have 30 minds contributing to and examining the body of material we generate and move from dialogue among points of view, to a dialogic exploration of differences and convergences. At the end of the first day, participants will discuss and decide how to proceed during the second day. At the end of the second day, the group will decide how to close the workshop on the following morning. This structure will give everyone the opportunity to participate extensively. A LIMITED SIZE Because such universal participation demands a relatively small group, we will accept the first 30 people who reserve places. The registration fee will be $250 for participants. Accommodations will be available for about $100 per night. To reserve a place, e-mail Ken Baskin or David Boje. Thanks for your interest. We look forward to your responses. Ken Baskin ( baskinman47@yahoo.com) David Boje ( dialog@peaceaware.com) 4. 3rd International Workshop on Complexity and Philosophy, 22-23 February 2007, Stellenbosch, South Africa: The deadline for extended abstracts has been extended until the end of June by request. Full details of the event and the submission process is available here . 5. 1st International Workshop on Complexity and Organizational Resilience, The Role of Complexity Thinking in Building and Sustaining Resilience in Dynamics Organizations, 24-25 May 2007 Pohnpei, Micronesia: The deadline for extended abstracts is the end of June. Full details of the event and the submission process is available here . 6. The next issue of the international journal Emergence: Complexity & Organization (E:CO) will be published by the end of June. This issue will include the following original papers: * Evolutionary drive: New understandings of change in socio-economic systems by Peter M. Allen, Mark Strathern & Jamie S.Baldwin; * Complexity in discrete innovation systems by Masaaki Hirooka; * Coevolutionary integration: The co-creation of a new organizational form following a merger and acquisition by Eve Mitleton-Kelly; * A case-study of the three largest aerospace manufacturing organizations: An exploration of organizational strategy, innovation and evolution by Liz Varga & Peter M. Allen; * Complexity in a complex Europe: Reflections on the cultural genesis of a new science by Damian Popolo; * Emergence and evil by David Bella. among others. If you would like to subscribe to E:CO please visit: http://emergence.org/Subscription/ for full details. All subscription types come with complete e-access of Volume 1 thru 8 as well as a complementary print version of the current volume (Issue 8.1 - 8.4). If you have any questions about the ISCE Group's publications and events then please feel free to contact me at your convenience. I hope you find at least some of our offerings of interest and value. Kind regards Kurt Richardson ******* If you have received more than one copy of this notice then please let me know and I will ensure that the extra addresses are removed from our mail list. If you do not want to continuing receiving notices from the Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence then please drop me an email or fill in the removal request for at http://isce.edu/Remove/ Either way, my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. -------------------- Call for Participation Please apologize for cross-postings The schedule is now fixed and registration open for the Workshop on Constraints in Discourse ======================== 7-9 July, 2006 http://www.constraints-in-discourse.org/cid06 This is the second in a series of workshops entitled "Constraints in Discourse". For a many years, the development of precise frameworks of discourse interpretation has been hampered by the lack of a deeper understanding of the dependencies between different discourse units. The past 15 years have seen a considerable advance in this field. A number of strong constraints have been proposed that restrict the sequencing and attaching of segments at various descriptive levels, as well as the interpretation of their interrelations. Last year's workshop CID2005 in Dortmund revealed a number of issues that still have to be clarified and worked upon. Most relevant topics turned out to be: - the necessity to have a look at intonation and discourse structure more closely; - the question of formal properties of discourse structure (tree-like or graph-like etc.); - the question of (psychological, social or linguistic) reality of constraints; - the interface between utterance-level and discourse-level analysis; - and the empirical foundation and availability of corpus annotation of constraints. The goal of this series of workshops is to provide a forum for presenting recent research on constraints in discourse. The target areas include the recognition of discourse structure as well as the interpretation and generation of discourse in a broad variety of domains. The workshop offers a forum for researchers from diverse formal approaches, including but not limited to: - Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) - Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT) - Tree Adjoining Grammars - Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) - The QUD Modell - Plan Based Reasoning - Abductive Reasoning - Gricean Pragmatics - Speech Act Theory Publication (and workshop) language is English The workshop is endorsed by SIGdial, the Special Interest Group on Discourse and Dialogue, and SIGsem, the Special Interest Group on Semantics, of ACL. Invited Speakers ================ Barbara Kaup, Technical University Berlin Alex Lascarides, University of Edinburgh Jerry Hobbs, University of Southern California Candace Sidner, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs Program Committee ================= Anton Benz, University of Southern Denmark, Kolding Markus Egg, Rijksuniversiteit. Groningen, Netherlands John Harpur, National University of Ireland, Maynooth Jerry Hobbs, University of Southern California Peter Kuehnlein, University of Bielefeld, Germany Alex Lascarides, University of Edinburgh, UK Barbara Kaup, Technical University Berlin, Germany Gisela Redeker, Rijksuniversiteit, Groningen, Netherlands Ivan Sag, Stanford University, USA Candace Sidner, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, USA Organisation ============ Organisation Committee: Candace Sidner, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, USA (Chair) Anton Benz, University of Southern Denmark, Kolding John Harpur, National University of Ireland, Maynooth Peter Kuehnlein, University of Bielefeld, Germany Local Organisation: John Harpur, National University of Ireland, Maynooth Coordinates =========== The workshop will take place from 7-9 July, 2006. It will be hosted by the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM). Maynooth is situated 15 miles from Dublin in the heart of the Kildare countryside, and is well served by motorway, rail and bus links. County Kildare is on Dublin's doorstep and is in close proximity to Dublin Airport and Seaport as well as Dun Laoghaire Harbour. It is also only a couple of hours drive from most parts of Ireland. Fees ==== Fees (including coffee breaks and lunch) are Participants from Academia: EUR 100 Participants from commercial enterprises: EUR 200 -- http://www.peter-kuehnlein.net "To ask when you already know is politeness. To ask when you don't know is the rule." (Hagakure) Upcoming event: http://www.constraints-in-discourse.org/cid06 -------------------------------------------------- Gesellschaft für Kognitionswissenschaft Schriftführer: Prof. Dr. Manfred Thüring Webmaster: Nikolaus Rötting e-Mail: sf@gk-ev.de Web: http://www.gk-ev.de --------------------------------------------------