Alexander Christakis - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alexander Christakis

Research paper thumbnail of Correspondence: Systems profiles

Systems Research, 1987

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Research paper thumbnail of The national forum on nonindustrial private forest lands

Systems Research, 1985

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Research paper thumbnail of A RETROSPECTIVE STRUCTURAL INQUIRY OF THE PREDICAMENT OF MANKIND PROSPECTUS OF THE CLUB OF ROME

Churchman dedicated his career to sensitizing systems scientists and other inquirers to the exist... more Churchman dedicated his career to sensitizing systems scientists and other inquirers to the existence of what he referred to as "enormous problems." In his view these are problems that cannot be addressed by a single discipline or a single inquirer but by interdisciplinary teams of inquirers. This chapter tells the story of how a group of researchers, in the context

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Research paper thumbnail of New Agora: New Geometry of Languaging

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Research paper thumbnail of 8. Technologue: Technology-supported disciplined dialogue

Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management, 2002

... 19X8: Warfield. 1999). The context of the next stage of dialogue shifts to “How ('(I~I \... more ... 19X8: Warfield. 1999). The context of the next stage of dialogue shifts to “How ('(I~I \c'r do wlurt 1t.c' .should do?” The participants generate and clarify options for addressing tht: pattern of challenges. Participants develop affinity clusters by exploring the Page 11. ...

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Research paper thumbnail of An agenda for technology assessment in the materials field. Volume II. Appendices

The contents are as follows: Appendix A - Questionnaires; Appendix B - Forecasts; Appendix C - As... more The contents are as follows: Appendix A - Questionnaires; Appendix B - Forecasts; Appendix C - Assessments; Appendix D - Miscellaneous materials.

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Research paper thumbnail of An agenda for technology assessment in the materials field. Volume I. Principal findings

An agenda for technology assessment in the field of materials was developed through a process of ... more An agenda for technology assessment in the field of materials was developed through a process of dialogue among experts by use of a procedure known as a 'science forum'. The science forum is intended to promote consensus through a dialectic that synthesizes the views from differing perspectives. In this project two science forums were conducted. In the first, the views

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Research paper thumbnail of Co-laboratories of Democracy: Best Choices for Designing Sustainable Futures

Translational Systems Sciences, 2014

"This chapter frames one of the greatest challenges of our time: the invention of method... more "This chapter frames one of the greatest challenges of our time: the invention of methods and technologies that harness the collective intelligence and wisdom of thousands of stakeholders working together on a complex societal systemic problem. The worldwide failures of democracy to respond to global challenges, especially in the domain of governance, call for such massive but still authentic and democratic participatory systems. The authors assert that the need to reinvent democracy is urgent and that it can be done using co-laboratories of democracy. It concludes with a presentation of key findings of colaboratories that aim to reinvent democracy using structured dialogic design methodology applied in small group settings and an introduction into the challenges of scaling up this process to engage thousands."

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Research paper thumbnail of Forecasting science and industry: Science forum approach

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 1979

ABSTRACT This paper describes a forecast of certain sciences and industries and the relationship ... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a forecast of certain sciences and industries and the relationship between the two for the decade 1980–1990. The industries selected were chemicals, electronics, metals, transportation, and health- care delivery. The sciences selected were chemistry and materials science. In addition to the forecasts per se, the project was intended to develop methodology for such forecasting.The science forecasts were extrapolative in character, while the industry forecasts were normative, in accordance with a middle-of-the-road scenario provided to the forecasters. The relationship between the two forecasts was explored through the technology needs of the industries and the technology contributions of the sciences. Details of the relationship were developed at a dialectical “science forum” involving a dialogue among all of the forecasters.

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Research paper thumbnail of Choosing Topics for Technology Assessment

IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 1980

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Research paper thumbnail of An Epic Learning Journey: From the Club of Rome to Dialogic Design Science and DEMOSOPHIA

Translational Systems Sciences, 2014

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Research paper thumbnail of A Retrospective Structural Inquiry of the Predicament of Humankind

Volume 1: Rescuing the Enlightenment from Itself, 2006

... 7. A RETROSPECTIVE STRUCTURAL INQUIRY OF THE ... In order to make transparent the systemic, i... more ... 7. A RETROSPECTIVE STRUCTURAL INQUIRY OF THE ... In order to make transparent the systemic, interactive, inter-sensitive, and interdependent nature of the global ... that by building up such problem clusters the three inquirers, although they all had made contributions in the ...

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Research paper thumbnail of Dialogue for Conscious Evolution

Wisdom, Knowledge, and Management, 2006

ABSTRACT The chapter is based on a forthcoming book titled Dialogue for the Information Age Democ... more ABSTRACT The chapter is based on a forthcoming book titled Dialogue for the Information Age Democracy. It focuses on the critical role of dialogue in the evolutionary guidance of social systems. It presents findings from grounded theoretical research starting with the Club of Rome prospectus on The Predicament of Mankind in 1970 (http://www.cwaltd.com/pdf/clubrome.pdf). This research led to the discovery of a disciplined dialogue paradigm called Structured Design Process (SDP). The SDP is suitable for engaging stakeholders in designing their social systems in the context of the escalating complexity of the Information Age. The paradigm is founded on a new geometry for languaging, called Archanesian, which postulates three axioms: (a) the escalating complexity of social systems designing, (b) the cognitive limitations of the observer in processing too many observations simultaneously, and (c) the difficulty in determining the relative saliency of observations. These three axioms become the foundation for the construction of terminology, methodology, and architecture for the SDP. In this chapter I will focus primarily on the architecture, which is composed of 35 components, six of which are laws discovered by systems thinkers of the 20th century. The six laws and their interactions in the context of structured dialogue for the production of meaning and community wisdom (DEMOSOPHIA) are presented in the chapter. The SDP has been applied for the last twenty years to address national, international, and inter-organizational design challenges. The results have been extraordinarily satisfactory to the practitioners and participants of these projects. A brief story from the design arena will also be presented.

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Research paper thumbnail of Urban Dynamics

Technological Forecasting, 1970

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Research paper thumbnail of Boundary-spanning dialogue for the 21st-century agoras

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2002

... The 'Lexus' represents the latest advances in technology for high-quality automated... more ... The 'Lexus' represents the latest advances in technology for high-quality automated car production by the Japanese auto industry. ... evolution and should enable all the civilizations of planet earth to engage in a dialogue among civilizations as defined by Herman Lopez-Garay ...

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Research paper thumbnail of Book review: Designing Social Systems in a Changing World. By Bela H. Banathy. Published by Plenum Press, New York, 1996, 372 pp, ISBN 0 306 45251 0

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 1998

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Research paper thumbnail of Wisdom of the people

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2004

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Research paper thumbnail of Designing a transnational indigenous leaders interaction in the context of globalization: a Wisdom of the People Forum

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2004

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Research paper thumbnail of Systemic governance and accountability. Edited by Janet McIntyre-Mills. Published by Springer, 2007, 437 pp., ISBN: 978-0387486710

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2008

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Research paper thumbnail of A systems approach to public policy estimation: Urban planning at the county level

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 1969

ABSTRACT In this paper an attempt is made to develop a conceptual public policy estimation model ... more ABSTRACT In this paper an attempt is made to develop a conceptual public policy estimation model at the county level employing the systems approach. A model that adheres to the notion of treating policy variables in the context of an entire system depicts the essence of the systems approach. A problem situation can be depicted by the form W-f(Ii, Oi) W=the measure of the worth of a particular policy Ii=the input of policy variables Oi=the extraneous or non-policy variables. A systematic procedure for assessing the worth of alternative growth patterns of a county can be meaningfully developed by defining the goals operationally in spacial and temporal terms and taking into account the complex patterns of interaction among the various worth criteria imposed by human beings upon the known performance. A number of methods such as factor analysis and modified Delphi could prove useful in making these worth values concrete. Once an acceptable region is determined in the worth space, then an appropriate search scheme is needed to determine the values of the input vector mapping the corresponding alternatives within the acceptable region. The conceptual framework of a normative planning process as it can be applied at the county level is developed. It consists of three central “sectors” and four “subsectors”. The three central sectors are the “public sector” which incorporates the role of the county government; the “land allocation sector,” which allocates land uses over the geographic space; and the “trade-off analysis sector,” through which the analytical assessment of the alternative plans is performed and from which the policy implications are obtained. The four subsectors which provide the necessary information for decision-making, analysis and implementation are the “public policy subsector,” “the public finance subsector,” “the aggregate land demand subsector,” and, “the land use subsector.” The overall planning process, the role of the central sectors, and interrelationship and feedbacks of the main sectors, the subsectors, and their relationships and feedback mechanisms are examined in detail. In conclusion, it is suggested that county planners adopt a systematic procedure for continuous re-evaluation of policies in concert with the experience gained through an iterative search of the policy space. Such a framework will provide a dynamic and open system approach, whose processes reflect realistic operationality.

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Research paper thumbnail of Correspondence: Systems profiles

Systems Research, 1987

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Research paper thumbnail of The national forum on nonindustrial private forest lands

Systems Research, 1985

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Research paper thumbnail of A RETROSPECTIVE STRUCTURAL INQUIRY OF THE PREDICAMENT OF MANKIND PROSPECTUS OF THE CLUB OF ROME

Churchman dedicated his career to sensitizing systems scientists and other inquirers to the exist... more Churchman dedicated his career to sensitizing systems scientists and other inquirers to the existence of what he referred to as "enormous problems." In his view these are problems that cannot be addressed by a single discipline or a single inquirer but by interdisciplinary teams of inquirers. This chapter tells the story of how a group of researchers, in the context

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Research paper thumbnail of New Agora: New Geometry of Languaging

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Research paper thumbnail of 8. Technologue: Technology-supported disciplined dialogue

Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management, 2002

... 19X8: Warfield. 1999). The context of the next stage of dialogue shifts to “How ('(I~I \... more ... 19X8: Warfield. 1999). The context of the next stage of dialogue shifts to “How ('(I~I \c'r do wlurt 1t.c' .should do?” The participants generate and clarify options for addressing tht: pattern of challenges. Participants develop affinity clusters by exploring the Page 11. ...

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Research paper thumbnail of An agenda for technology assessment in the materials field. Volume II. Appendices

The contents are as follows: Appendix A - Questionnaires; Appendix B - Forecasts; Appendix C - As... more The contents are as follows: Appendix A - Questionnaires; Appendix B - Forecasts; Appendix C - Assessments; Appendix D - Miscellaneous materials.

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Research paper thumbnail of An agenda for technology assessment in the materials field. Volume I. Principal findings

An agenda for technology assessment in the field of materials was developed through a process of ... more An agenda for technology assessment in the field of materials was developed through a process of dialogue among experts by use of a procedure known as a 'science forum'. The science forum is intended to promote consensus through a dialectic that synthesizes the views from differing perspectives. In this project two science forums were conducted. In the first, the views

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Research paper thumbnail of Co-laboratories of Democracy: Best Choices for Designing Sustainable Futures

Translational Systems Sciences, 2014

"This chapter frames one of the greatest challenges of our time: the invention of method... more "This chapter frames one of the greatest challenges of our time: the invention of methods and technologies that harness the collective intelligence and wisdom of thousands of stakeholders working together on a complex societal systemic problem. The worldwide failures of democracy to respond to global challenges, especially in the domain of governance, call for such massive but still authentic and democratic participatory systems. The authors assert that the need to reinvent democracy is urgent and that it can be done using co-laboratories of democracy. It concludes with a presentation of key findings of colaboratories that aim to reinvent democracy using structured dialogic design methodology applied in small group settings and an introduction into the challenges of scaling up this process to engage thousands."

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Research paper thumbnail of Forecasting science and industry: Science forum approach

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 1979

ABSTRACT This paper describes a forecast of certain sciences and industries and the relationship ... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a forecast of certain sciences and industries and the relationship between the two for the decade 1980–1990. The industries selected were chemicals, electronics, metals, transportation, and health- care delivery. The sciences selected were chemistry and materials science. In addition to the forecasts per se, the project was intended to develop methodology for such forecasting.The science forecasts were extrapolative in character, while the industry forecasts were normative, in accordance with a middle-of-the-road scenario provided to the forecasters. The relationship between the two forecasts was explored through the technology needs of the industries and the technology contributions of the sciences. Details of the relationship were developed at a dialectical “science forum” involving a dialogue among all of the forecasters.

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Research paper thumbnail of Choosing Topics for Technology Assessment

IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 1980

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Research paper thumbnail of An Epic Learning Journey: From the Club of Rome to Dialogic Design Science and DEMOSOPHIA

Translational Systems Sciences, 2014

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Research paper thumbnail of A Retrospective Structural Inquiry of the Predicament of Humankind

Volume 1: Rescuing the Enlightenment from Itself, 2006

... 7. A RETROSPECTIVE STRUCTURAL INQUIRY OF THE ... In order to make transparent the systemic, i... more ... 7. A RETROSPECTIVE STRUCTURAL INQUIRY OF THE ... In order to make transparent the systemic, interactive, inter-sensitive, and interdependent nature of the global ... that by building up such problem clusters the three inquirers, although they all had made contributions in the ...

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Research paper thumbnail of Dialogue for Conscious Evolution

Wisdom, Knowledge, and Management, 2006

ABSTRACT The chapter is based on a forthcoming book titled Dialogue for the Information Age Democ... more ABSTRACT The chapter is based on a forthcoming book titled Dialogue for the Information Age Democracy. It focuses on the critical role of dialogue in the evolutionary guidance of social systems. It presents findings from grounded theoretical research starting with the Club of Rome prospectus on The Predicament of Mankind in 1970 (http://www.cwaltd.com/pdf/clubrome.pdf). This research led to the discovery of a disciplined dialogue paradigm called Structured Design Process (SDP). The SDP is suitable for engaging stakeholders in designing their social systems in the context of the escalating complexity of the Information Age. The paradigm is founded on a new geometry for languaging, called Archanesian, which postulates three axioms: (a) the escalating complexity of social systems designing, (b) the cognitive limitations of the observer in processing too many observations simultaneously, and (c) the difficulty in determining the relative saliency of observations. These three axioms become the foundation for the construction of terminology, methodology, and architecture for the SDP. In this chapter I will focus primarily on the architecture, which is composed of 35 components, six of which are laws discovered by systems thinkers of the 20th century. The six laws and their interactions in the context of structured dialogue for the production of meaning and community wisdom (DEMOSOPHIA) are presented in the chapter. The SDP has been applied for the last twenty years to address national, international, and inter-organizational design challenges. The results have been extraordinarily satisfactory to the practitioners and participants of these projects. A brief story from the design arena will also be presented.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Urban Dynamics

Technological Forecasting, 1970

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Boundary-spanning dialogue for the 21st-century agoras

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2002

... The 'Lexus' represents the latest advances in technology for high-quality automated... more ... The 'Lexus' represents the latest advances in technology for high-quality automated car production by the Japanese auto industry. ... evolution and should enable all the civilizations of planet earth to engage in a dialogue among civilizations as defined by Herman Lopez-Garay ...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Book review: Designing Social Systems in a Changing World. By Bela H. Banathy. Published by Plenum Press, New York, 1996, 372 pp, ISBN 0 306 45251 0

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 1998

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Wisdom of the people

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2004

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Designing a transnational indigenous leaders interaction in the context of globalization: a Wisdom of the People Forum

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2004

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Systemic governance and accountability. Edited by Janet McIntyre-Mills. Published by Springer, 2007, 437 pp., ISBN: 978-0387486710

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2008

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A systems approach to public policy estimation: Urban planning at the county level

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 1969

ABSTRACT In this paper an attempt is made to develop a conceptual public policy estimation model ... more ABSTRACT In this paper an attempt is made to develop a conceptual public policy estimation model at the county level employing the systems approach. A model that adheres to the notion of treating policy variables in the context of an entire system depicts the essence of the systems approach. A problem situation can be depicted by the form W-f(Ii, Oi) W=the measure of the worth of a particular policy Ii=the input of policy variables Oi=the extraneous or non-policy variables. A systematic procedure for assessing the worth of alternative growth patterns of a county can be meaningfully developed by defining the goals operationally in spacial and temporal terms and taking into account the complex patterns of interaction among the various worth criteria imposed by human beings upon the known performance. A number of methods such as factor analysis and modified Delphi could prove useful in making these worth values concrete. Once an acceptable region is determined in the worth space, then an appropriate search scheme is needed to determine the values of the input vector mapping the corresponding alternatives within the acceptable region. The conceptual framework of a normative planning process as it can be applied at the county level is developed. It consists of three central “sectors” and four “subsectors”. The three central sectors are the “public sector” which incorporates the role of the county government; the “land allocation sector,” which allocates land uses over the geographic space; and the “trade-off analysis sector,” through which the analytical assessment of the alternative plans is performed and from which the policy implications are obtained. The four subsectors which provide the necessary information for decision-making, analysis and implementation are the “public policy subsector,” “the public finance subsector,” “the aggregate land demand subsector,” and, “the land use subsector.” The overall planning process, the role of the central sectors, and interrelationship and feedbacks of the main sectors, the subsectors, and their relationships and feedback mechanisms are examined in detail. In conclusion, it is suggested that county planners adopt a systematic procedure for continuous re-evaluation of policies in concert with the experience gained through an iterative search of the policy space. Such a framework will provide a dynamic and open system approach, whose processes reflect realistic operationality.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Co-laboratories of Democracy: Best Choices for Designing Sustainable Futures

Translational Systems Sciences: Social Systems and Design, 2014

"This chapter frames one of the greatest challenges of our time: the invention of methods and tec... more "This chapter frames one of the greatest challenges of our time: the invention of methods and technologies that harness the collective intelligence and wisdom of thousands of stakeholders working together on a complex societal systemic problem. The worldwide failures of democracy to respond to global challenges, especially in the domain of governance, call for such massive but still authentic and democratic participatory systems. The authors assert that the need to reinvent democracy is urgent and that it can be done using co-laboratories of democracy. It concludes with a presentation of key findings of colaboratories that aim to reinvent democracy using structured dialogic design methodology applied in small group settings and an introduction into the challenges of scaling up this process to engage thousands."

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