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Papers by Michael U Ben-Eli

Research paper thumbnail of Afforestation of gullies in arid regions, intensification of internal ecological functionality until rehabilitation of the whole area. Attir basin, the Northern Negev, Israel

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of grazing control on ecosystem recovery, biological productivity gains, and soil carbon sequestration in long‐term degraded loess farmlands in the Northern Negev, Israel

Land Degradation & Development, 2021

High rainfall variability in drylands complicates comparison in time of productivity and soil fer... more High rainfall variability in drylands complicates comparison in time of productivity and soil fertility, and their changes due to altered management. In order to determine the extent, kinetics, and mechanisms of soil and ecosystem recovery achievable in degraded loess plots in southern Israel, aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and soil quality in three fenced plots were analyzed between 2011 and 2017 for experimental confirmation of previously formulated hypotheses on the ecosystem recovery potential in this area. A degraded control plot [<20% biological productivity, marginal plant biodiversity, 50% reduced soil organic matter (SOM)] was analyzed in the same way to normalize annual growth rates in the protected plots. An abandoned ruminants' enclosure was chosen as a reference plot for maximum achievable values to estimate the duration to full ecosystem recovery. The protected loess areas displayed rapid full recovery of soil moisture measured at the end of the rainy...

Research paper thumbnail of Local and global implications of ecosystem restoration in degraded agro-ecosystems

is a researcher working in Paula Teixeira's group in Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, ... more is a researcher working in Paula Teixeira's group in Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, Portugal. She has been doing some work in the field of bacteriocins production by trying to find some techniques that will improve LAB bacteriocins with application in the food industry.

Research paper thumbnail of The sustainability laboratory and Project Wadi Attir

Cybernetics and Systems, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of EGU 2017: Ecosystem Restoration�Project Wadi Attir

Research paper thumbnail of Comments on the cybernetics of stability and regulation in social systems

The relationships between humans, pigs, and gardens. *The killing of pigs and the distribution an... more The relationships between humans, pigs, and gardens. *The killing of pigs and the distribution and consumption of pork. *The hunting and consumption of non-domesticated animals. *The density of human population and the distribu-Lion of land. *The frequency and severity of warfare. *The exchange of goods and people between local groups.

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainability : The Five Core Principles A New Framework

The concept of “sustainable development,” as coined by the World Commission on Environment and De... more The concept of “sustainable development,” as coined by the World Commission on Environment and Development and with it, the term “sustainability” itself, have been gaining increasing recognition in recent years all around the world. Wide-spread use, however, has been followed by growing ambiguity so that today both terms are employed within a very broad spectrum of meaning often, to the point of trivialization.

Research paper thumbnail of Comments on the cybernetics of stability

The, methods and principles of cybernetics are applied to a discussion of stability and regulatio... more The, methods and principles of cybernetics are applied to a discussion of stability and regulation in social sys-tems to: ing a global. viewpoint,, The fundamental but still classical notion of stability as applied to homeostatic and ultrastable systems is discussed", with a particular reference to a specific wel: t.-studied example of a closed social group (the Tsembaga studied by Roy Rappaport in New Guinea). The discussion extends to the problem of evolution in large systems and the question of regulating evolution is addressed without special qualifications. A more comprehen-sive idea of stability is introdu. cýed as the argument turns to the problem of evolution for viability in nene. ral Concepts pertaining to. he problem of evolution are exempla fiel by computer. =L-mulation model of an abstractly defined ecosystem in which various dynamic processes occur

Research paper thumbnail of The Cybernetics of Crisis and the Challenge of Sustainability

Research paper thumbnail of Why is managing change difficult? Organisational renewal and the cybernetics of effective enterprise

Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and ... more Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and his colleagues, the concept of first and second-order change is adopted in order to distinguish between two essential types of change and the question of why is managing change difficult is addressed. Four factors are identified at the heart of this difficulty. They include the Complexity factor, the Epistemic factor, the Structural factor, and the Inertia or Vested-Interest factor. Antidotes to the four factors are briefly discussed, and organisational learning, interpreted as a system's ability to amplify its internal variety is suggested as the most potent means of transcending limitations of existing programming and ensuring constant organisational renewal.

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainability: definition and five core principles, a systems perspective

Research paper thumbnail of Amplifying Regulation and Variety Increase in Evolving Systems

Journal of Cybernetics, 1979

The cybernetic theory of regulation is applied to a characterization of evolution, with emphasis ... more The cybernetic theory of regulation is applied to a characterization of evolution, with emphasis on an interpretation of the directional aspects of evolutionary processes. In the suggested context, evolution appears as a general type of stability, and a perception of the world as a hierarchy of structures differentiated by discontinuities and characterized by an increasing order of complexity and organization,

Research paper thumbnail of Why is managing change difficult? Organisational renewal and the cybernetics of effective enterprise

International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies, 2008

Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and ... more Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and his colleagues, the concept of first and second-order change is adopted in order to distinguish between two essential types of change and the question of why is managing change difficult is addressed. Four factors are identified at the heart of this difficulty. They include the Complexity factor, the Epistemic factor, the Structural factor, and the Inertia or Vested-Interest factor. These factors act not only as obstacles to change, when change is required, but are also the root cause which drive organizations into conditions of crisis requiring second-order change interventions. Antidotes to the four factors are briefly discussed, and organizational learning, interpreted as a system's ability to amplify its internal variety, is suggested as the most potent means of transcending limitations of existing programming and ensuring constant organizational renewal.

Research paper thumbnail of The Way You Look Determines What You See (Or Self-Organization in Management and Society)

Cybernetics and Systems, 1987

The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to man... more The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to management processes and social systems. A world view is taken, emphasizing a descriptive distinction of levels associated with the physical, biological, social, and mental. Self-organization principles, it is argued, are operative in all levels of such a stratified scheme, but they are manifest in different mechanisms and different embodiments.Management, planning, design, and other “intervention” types of activities are among the processes through which self-organization is manifest in the social domain. Ultimately they have to do with maintaining, enriching, and amplifying the potential variety of the systems concerned. The operationally critical question involved, it is suggested, is not whether management activities are “man-made” or “natural,” “spontaneous” or “planned,” but rather whether they enhance or suppress the potential variety of a system under consideration.

Research paper thumbnail of The way you look determines what you see (or self-organization in management and society)

Cybernetics and systems, 1987

The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to man... more The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to management processes and social systems. A world view is taken, emphasizing a descriptive distinction of levels associated with the physical, biological, social, and mental. Self-organization principles, it is argued, are operative in all levels of such a stratified scheme, but they are manifest in different mechanisms and different embodiments.Management, planning, design, and other “intervention” types of activities are among the processes through which self-organization is manifest in the social domain. Ultimately they have to do with maintaining, enriching, and amplifying the potential variety of the systems concerned. The operationally critical question involved, it is suggested, is not whether management activities are “man-made” or “natural,” “spontaneous” or “planned,” but rather whether they enhance or suppress the potential variety of a system under consideration.

Research paper thumbnail of Afforestation of gullies in arid regions, intensification of internal ecological functionality until rehabilitation of the whole area. Attir basin, the Northern Negev, Israel

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of grazing control on ecosystem recovery, biological productivity gains, and soil carbon sequestration in long‐term degraded loess farmlands in the Northern Negev, Israel

Land Degradation & Development, 2021

High rainfall variability in drylands complicates comparison in time of productivity and soil fer... more High rainfall variability in drylands complicates comparison in time of productivity and soil fertility, and their changes due to altered management. In order to determine the extent, kinetics, and mechanisms of soil and ecosystem recovery achievable in degraded loess plots in southern Israel, aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and soil quality in three fenced plots were analyzed between 2011 and 2017 for experimental confirmation of previously formulated hypotheses on the ecosystem recovery potential in this area. A degraded control plot [<20% biological productivity, marginal plant biodiversity, 50% reduced soil organic matter (SOM)] was analyzed in the same way to normalize annual growth rates in the protected plots. An abandoned ruminants' enclosure was chosen as a reference plot for maximum achievable values to estimate the duration to full ecosystem recovery. The protected loess areas displayed rapid full recovery of soil moisture measured at the end of the rainy...

Research paper thumbnail of Local and global implications of ecosystem restoration in degraded agro-ecosystems

is a researcher working in Paula Teixeira's group in Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, ... more is a researcher working in Paula Teixeira's group in Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, Portugal. She has been doing some work in the field of bacteriocins production by trying to find some techniques that will improve LAB bacteriocins with application in the food industry.

Research paper thumbnail of The sustainability laboratory and Project Wadi Attir

Cybernetics and Systems, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of EGU 2017: Ecosystem Restoration�Project Wadi Attir

Research paper thumbnail of Comments on the cybernetics of stability and regulation in social systems

The relationships between humans, pigs, and gardens. *The killing of pigs and the distribution an... more The relationships between humans, pigs, and gardens. *The killing of pigs and the distribution and consumption of pork. *The hunting and consumption of non-domesticated animals. *The density of human population and the distribu-Lion of land. *The frequency and severity of warfare. *The exchange of goods and people between local groups.

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainability : The Five Core Principles A New Framework

The concept of “sustainable development,” as coined by the World Commission on Environment and De... more The concept of “sustainable development,” as coined by the World Commission on Environment and Development and with it, the term “sustainability” itself, have been gaining increasing recognition in recent years all around the world. Wide-spread use, however, has been followed by growing ambiguity so that today both terms are employed within a very broad spectrum of meaning often, to the point of trivialization.

Research paper thumbnail of Comments on the cybernetics of stability

The, methods and principles of cybernetics are applied to a discussion of stability and regulatio... more The, methods and principles of cybernetics are applied to a discussion of stability and regulation in social sys-tems to: ing a global. viewpoint,, The fundamental but still classical notion of stability as applied to homeostatic and ultrastable systems is discussed", with a particular reference to a specific wel: t.-studied example of a closed social group (the Tsembaga studied by Roy Rappaport in New Guinea). The discussion extends to the problem of evolution in large systems and the question of regulating evolution is addressed without special qualifications. A more comprehen-sive idea of stability is introdu. cýed as the argument turns to the problem of evolution for viability in nene. ral Concepts pertaining to. he problem of evolution are exempla fiel by computer. =L-mulation model of an abstractly defined ecosystem in which various dynamic processes occur

Research paper thumbnail of The Cybernetics of Crisis and the Challenge of Sustainability

Research paper thumbnail of Why is managing change difficult? Organisational renewal and the cybernetics of effective enterprise

Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and ... more Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and his colleagues, the concept of first and second-order change is adopted in order to distinguish between two essential types of change and the question of why is managing change difficult is addressed. Four factors are identified at the heart of this difficulty. They include the Complexity factor, the Epistemic factor, the Structural factor, and the Inertia or Vested-Interest factor. Antidotes to the four factors are briefly discussed, and organisational learning, interpreted as a system's ability to amplify its internal variety is suggested as the most potent means of transcending limitations of existing programming and ensuring constant organisational renewal.

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainability: definition and five core principles, a systems perspective

Research paper thumbnail of Amplifying Regulation and Variety Increase in Evolving Systems

Journal of Cybernetics, 1979

The cybernetic theory of regulation is applied to a characterization of evolution, with emphasis ... more The cybernetic theory of regulation is applied to a characterization of evolution, with emphasis on an interpretation of the directional aspects of evolutionary processes. In the suggested context, evolution appears as a general type of stability, and a perception of the world as a hierarchy of structures differentiated by discontinuities and characterized by an increasing order of complexity and organization,

Research paper thumbnail of Why is managing change difficult? Organisational renewal and the cybernetics of effective enterprise

International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies, 2008

Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and ... more Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and his colleagues, the concept of first and second-order change is adopted in order to distinguish between two essential types of change and the question of why is managing change difficult is addressed. Four factors are identified at the heart of this difficulty. They include the Complexity factor, the Epistemic factor, the Structural factor, and the Inertia or Vested-Interest factor. These factors act not only as obstacles to change, when change is required, but are also the root cause which drive organizations into conditions of crisis requiring second-order change interventions. Antidotes to the four factors are briefly discussed, and organizational learning, interpreted as a system's ability to amplify its internal variety, is suggested as the most potent means of transcending limitations of existing programming and ensuring constant organizational renewal.

Research paper thumbnail of The Way You Look Determines What You See (Or Self-Organization in Management and Society)

Cybernetics and Systems, 1987

The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to man... more The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to management processes and social systems. A world view is taken, emphasizing a descriptive distinction of levels associated with the physical, biological, social, and mental. Self-organization principles, it is argued, are operative in all levels of such a stratified scheme, but they are manifest in different mechanisms and different embodiments.Management, planning, design, and other “intervention” types of activities are among the processes through which self-organization is manifest in the social domain. Ultimately they have to do with maintaining, enriching, and amplifying the potential variety of the systems concerned. The operationally critical question involved, it is suggested, is not whether management activities are “man-made” or “natural,” “spontaneous” or “planned,” but rather whether they enhance or suppress the potential variety of a system under consideration.

Research paper thumbnail of The way you look determines what you see (or self-organization in management and society)

Cybernetics and systems, 1987

The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to man... more The concept of self-organization is reviewed and its implications are explored in relation to management processes and social systems. A world view is taken, emphasizing a descriptive distinction of levels associated with the physical, biological, social, and mental. Self-organization principles, it is argued, are operative in all levels of such a stratified scheme, but they are manifest in different mechanisms and different embodiments.Management, planning, design, and other “intervention” types of activities are among the processes through which self-organization is manifest in the social domain. Ultimately they have to do with maintaining, enriching, and amplifying the potential variety of the systems concerned. The operationally critical question involved, it is suggested, is not whether management activities are “man-made” or “natural,” “spontaneous” or “planned,” but rather whether they enhance or suppress the potential variety of a system under consideration.