VSM working in Natural Disasters Peter Munday, PhD
Description: VSM working in Natural Disasters Peter Munday, PhD candidate University of Hull (HUBS, Systems Studies) 13 November 2015 Masterclass 1 of 20 2015 Peter G Munday Peters Progress Peter Master of Research (MRes) Beginning the journey
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slide1. VSM working in Natural Disasters Peter Munday, PhD candidate
University of Hull (HUBS, Systems Studies)
13 November 2015 ‡ Masterclass 1 of 20 © 2015 Peter G Munday<br>
slide2. Peter’s Progress Peter Master of Research (MRes)
Beginning the journey
Exploring the basics
Seeking the knowledge
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Crafting the problem
Reading the literature
Thinking the situation Progress Submitted my thesis
Awaiting the Viva
Considering my future
Discovering the changes 2 of 20 © 2015 Peter G Munday<br>
slide3. VSM working in Natural Disasters Gaia
Natural disaster
Developing countries
Gap-in-knowledge
Heterarchical VSM
Three models
The ‘jigsaw’ into my thesis
Q&A © 2015 Peter G Munday 3 of 20<br>
slide4. Gaia as “Earthrise” 4 of 20 © 2015 Peter G Munday<br>
slide5. James Lovelock’s Gaia … defined as
“a complex entity involving Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet”.
(Lovelock, 1979, p.11) © 2015 Peter G Munday 5 of 20<br>
slide6. Gaia – a cybernetic ‘perfectness’? About cybernetics …
“Cybernetics deals with all forms of behaviour in so far as they are regular, or determinate, or reproducible. The materiality is irrelevant, and so is the holding or not of the ordinary laws of physics” (Ashby, 1956, p1). © 2015 Peter G Munday 6 of 20<br>
slide7. My … G A P … in-the-knowledge … (or perhaps is of application) in essence, finds …
“a lack of co-ordination …
between the multiple agencies”
plus of …
“a lack of engagement …
with disaster-hit communities” © 2015 Peter G Munday 7 of 20<br>
slide8. Research focussed for developing countries A developing country is,
“a poor agricultural country that is seeking to become more advanced economically and socially” (OED, 2005)
Pragmatically, for my project,
“countries principally on the continents of Latin & Central America, Africa and Asia” © 2015 Peter G Munday 8 of 20<br>
slide9. Earthquake (Image: Wikipedia, 2015) Out of kilter …
from homeostasis
Earthquake
Flood
Volcanic eruption
Drought
Swarming locusts
… and so on
That ‘perfectness’ which cybernetics suggested through its philosophical definition is not always present.
The ‘Blue Marble’, waxed lyrical over by various NASA Apollo space men and women, the beautiful image of Earthrise taken from the Moon, is not always a ‘fair’ environment for human beings to live upon. Natural disasters happen. © 2015 Peter G Munday 9 of 20<br>
slide10. A ‘humanitarian’ research project © 2015 Peter G Munday 10 of 20 Above: Republic of Haiti
Right: Horn of Africa
(images: un.org; wikipedia.org)<br>
slide11. Developing countries and natural disasters Many were governed by colonial powers
Many receive international aid money
Many people ‘live’ a ‘hand-to-mouth’ lifestyle
Many have been governed by dictators
Many face continual societal upheaval
Many are situated across natural world ‘junctions’ Latin America:
Volcano; Tsunami
Central America:
Earthquakes; Hurricanes
West Africa:
Locust swarms; Droughts
East Africa:
Drought; (Civil Conflict)
Asiatic nations:
Cyclones; Earthquakes © 2015 Peter G Munday 11 of 20<br>
slide12. A Research Project looking at… Boundaries
Multiple agencies
Disaster-hit communities
Project-current issues
How to find the way forward © 2015 Peter G Munday 12 of 20<br>
slide13. A Research Project using tools… Systemic Intervention (Midgley, 2000)
Boundary Analysis (after Ulrich, 1983ff)
Viable System Model (Beer, 1985)
Systemic Boundary Analysis tool (Munday, 2011)
Abductive (retroduction) reasoning (Peirce, 1909)
Groupthink (Janis, 1982) © 2015 Peter G Munday 13 of 20<br>
slide14. The Viable System Model (VSM) (Model adapted from Espinosa & Walker, 2013, p.123) © 2015 Peter G Munday 14 of 20<br>
slide15. Heterarchical VSMs Hierarchical structure
a single-tier system
providing
‘top-down’ management Heterarchical intervention
multiple systems
providing
a formal structure of linked systems © 2015 Peter G Munday 15 of 20<br>
slide16. My VSM intervention © 2015 Peter G Munday 16 of 20<br>
slide17. So … ‘to jigsaw this story’ Viewing a media report
Bringing together ideas
Developing my project
Reading the literature
Talking with supervisors Using VSM, in theory
Hoping VSM, in reality
Communicating
Reaching
Implementing © 2015 Peter G Munday 17 of 20<br>
slide18. Any questions please? © 2015 Peter G Munday 18 of 20<br>
slide19. References & Sources Literature
ASHBY, W. R. 1956. An Introduction to Cybernetics. 1957 (2nd impression) ed. UK, London: Chapman & Hall Ltd. Available: http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/books/IntroCyb.pdf.
BEER, S. 1985. Diagnosing the System for Organizations. Reprinted 2004 ed. UK, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
ESPINOSA, A. & WALKER, J. 2013. Complexity management in practice: A Viable System Model intervention in an Irish eco-community. European Journal of Operational Research, 225(1). pp.118-129. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2012.09.015.
JANIS, I. L. 1982. Groupthink. 2nd Revised ed. US, Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin (Academic).
LOVELOCK, J. E. 1979. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. Reprint 1988 ed. UK, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
MIDGLEY, G. 2000. Systemic Intervention: Philosophy, Methodology, and Practice. US, New York NY: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers.
MUNDAY, P. G. 2011. Resilience for Disasters: A theoretical assessment of four paradigms and boundaries. Master of Research (MRes) Dissertation, University of Hull (unpublished). (OED) OXFORD DICTIONARY. 2005. Oxford Dictionary of English [eBook]. 2nd ed. UK, Oxford: OUP.
PEIRCE, C. S. 1909. A Neglected Argument for the Reality of God. The Hibbert Journal [Online], 7(October 1908-July 1909). Available: http://archive.org/details/hibbertjournal07londuoft.
ULRICH, W. 1983. Critical Heuristics of Social Planning: A New Approach to Practical Philosophy. Switzerland, Bern: Paul Haupt. (and other texts)
Images
Earthquake: Wikipedia - May 2015 Nepal earthquake
Earthrise: http://ringoon.jp/
Haiti (map): http://un.org/
Horn of Africa: (geophysical): Wikipedia – Horn of Africa © 2015 Peter G Munday 19 of 20<br>
slide20. p.g.munday@2010.hull.ac.uk Peter’s (student) University of Hull Email Address
November 2015
[whilst this remains open and valid for access] © 2015 Peter G Munday 20 of 20<br>
University of Hull (HUBS, Systems Studies)
13 November 2015 ‡ Masterclass 1 of 20 © 2015 Peter G Munday<br>
slide2. Peter’s Progress Peter Master of Research (MRes)
Beginning the journey
Exploring the basics
Seeking the knowledge
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Crafting the problem
Reading the literature
Thinking the situation Progress Submitted my thesis
Awaiting the Viva
Considering my future
Discovering the changes 2 of 20 © 2015 Peter G Munday<br>
slide3. VSM working in Natural Disasters Gaia
Natural disaster
Developing countries
Gap-in-knowledge
Heterarchical VSM
Three models
The ‘jigsaw’ into my thesis
Q&A © 2015 Peter G Munday 3 of 20<br>
slide4. Gaia as “Earthrise” 4 of 20 © 2015 Peter G Munday<br>
slide5. James Lovelock’s Gaia … defined as
“a complex entity involving Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet”.
(Lovelock, 1979, p.11) © 2015 Peter G Munday 5 of 20<br>
slide6. Gaia – a cybernetic ‘perfectness’? About cybernetics …
“Cybernetics deals with all forms of behaviour in so far as they are regular, or determinate, or reproducible. The materiality is irrelevant, and so is the holding or not of the ordinary laws of physics” (Ashby, 1956, p1). © 2015 Peter G Munday 6 of 20<br>
slide7. My … G A P … in-the-knowledge … (or perhaps is of application) in essence, finds …
“a lack of co-ordination …
between the multiple agencies”
plus of …
“a lack of engagement …
with disaster-hit communities” © 2015 Peter G Munday 7 of 20<br>
slide8. Research focussed for developing countries A developing country is,
“a poor agricultural country that is seeking to become more advanced economically and socially” (OED, 2005)
Pragmatically, for my project,
“countries principally on the continents of Latin & Central America, Africa and Asia” © 2015 Peter G Munday 8 of 20<br>
slide9. Earthquake (Image: Wikipedia, 2015) Out of kilter …
from homeostasis
Earthquake
Flood
Volcanic eruption
Drought
Swarming locusts
… and so on
That ‘perfectness’ which cybernetics suggested through its philosophical definition is not always present.
The ‘Blue Marble’, waxed lyrical over by various NASA Apollo space men and women, the beautiful image of Earthrise taken from the Moon, is not always a ‘fair’ environment for human beings to live upon. Natural disasters happen. © 2015 Peter G Munday 9 of 20<br>
slide10. A ‘humanitarian’ research project © 2015 Peter G Munday 10 of 20 Above: Republic of Haiti
Right: Horn of Africa
(images: un.org; wikipedia.org)<br>
slide11. Developing countries and natural disasters Many were governed by colonial powers
Many receive international aid money
Many people ‘live’ a ‘hand-to-mouth’ lifestyle
Many have been governed by dictators
Many face continual societal upheaval
Many are situated across natural world ‘junctions’ Latin America:
Volcano; Tsunami
Central America:
Earthquakes; Hurricanes
West Africa:
Locust swarms; Droughts
East Africa:
Drought; (Civil Conflict)
Asiatic nations:
Cyclones; Earthquakes © 2015 Peter G Munday 11 of 20<br>
slide12. A Research Project looking at… Boundaries
Multiple agencies
Disaster-hit communities
Project-current issues
How to find the way forward © 2015 Peter G Munday 12 of 20<br>
slide13. A Research Project using tools… Systemic Intervention (Midgley, 2000)
Boundary Analysis (after Ulrich, 1983ff)
Viable System Model (Beer, 1985)
Systemic Boundary Analysis tool (Munday, 2011)
Abductive (retroduction) reasoning (Peirce, 1909)
Groupthink (Janis, 1982) © 2015 Peter G Munday 13 of 20<br>
slide14. The Viable System Model (VSM) (Model adapted from Espinosa & Walker, 2013, p.123) © 2015 Peter G Munday 14 of 20<br>
slide15. Heterarchical VSMs Hierarchical structure
a single-tier system
providing
‘top-down’ management Heterarchical intervention
multiple systems
providing
a formal structure of linked systems © 2015 Peter G Munday 15 of 20<br>
slide16. My VSM intervention © 2015 Peter G Munday 16 of 20<br>
slide17. So … ‘to jigsaw this story’ Viewing a media report
Bringing together ideas
Developing my project
Reading the literature
Talking with supervisors Using VSM, in theory
Hoping VSM, in reality
Communicating
Reaching
Implementing © 2015 Peter G Munday 17 of 20<br>
slide18. Any questions please? © 2015 Peter G Munday 18 of 20<br>
slide19. References & Sources Literature
ASHBY, W. R. 1956. An Introduction to Cybernetics. 1957 (2nd impression) ed. UK, London: Chapman & Hall Ltd. Available: http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/books/IntroCyb.pdf.
BEER, S. 1985. Diagnosing the System for Organizations. Reprinted 2004 ed. UK, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
ESPINOSA, A. & WALKER, J. 2013. Complexity management in practice: A Viable System Model intervention in an Irish eco-community. European Journal of Operational Research, 225(1). pp.118-129. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2012.09.015.
JANIS, I. L. 1982. Groupthink. 2nd Revised ed. US, Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin (Academic).
LOVELOCK, J. E. 1979. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. Reprint 1988 ed. UK, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
MIDGLEY, G. 2000. Systemic Intervention: Philosophy, Methodology, and Practice. US, New York NY: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers.
MUNDAY, P. G. 2011. Resilience for Disasters: A theoretical assessment of four paradigms and boundaries. Master of Research (MRes) Dissertation, University of Hull (unpublished). (OED) OXFORD DICTIONARY. 2005. Oxford Dictionary of English [eBook]. 2nd ed. UK, Oxford: OUP.
PEIRCE, C. S. 1909. A Neglected Argument for the Reality of God. The Hibbert Journal [Online], 7(October 1908-July 1909). Available: http://archive.org/details/hibbertjournal07londuoft.
ULRICH, W. 1983. Critical Heuristics of Social Planning: A New Approach to Practical Philosophy. Switzerland, Bern: Paul Haupt. (and other texts)
Images
Earthquake: Wikipedia - May 2015 Nepal earthquake
Earthrise: http://ringoon.jp/
Haiti (map): http://un.org/
Horn of Africa: (geophysical): Wikipedia – Horn of Africa © 2015 Peter G Munday 19 of 20<br>
slide20. p.g.munday@2010.hull.ac.uk Peter’s (student) University of Hull Email Address
November 2015
[whilst this remains open and valid for access] © 2015 Peter G Munday 20 of 20<br>