Is the Viable System Model of organization inimical to the concept of human freedom?

This paper examines the sensitivity of Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model of organization to the concept of human freedom. The paper notes the many critics who have suggested that the Viable System Model is inimical to human freedom and their especial reference to its application to the social economy of Chile in the early 1970s. Drawing on the work of philosophers, a conceptual analysis of freedom is provided that suggests a complex ordinary language usage of the term. At least three determinants of freedom, that are logically independent of one another, are identified as being of relevance to its ordinary usage. The paper finds that these determinants are implicitly addressed and acknowledged within Beer’s own writings, but that they are ignored by the critics of the Viable System Model and that this makes for a lack of clarity and precision in the debate. The paper also applies a further criterion, formulated in political philosophy, to judge whether the leadership of the government that applied the Viable System Model to the Chilean social economy was itself hostile to political freedom or democracy. This application of the criterion suggests that they were not

Soft OR and practice : the contribution of the founders of Operation Research

This paper explores the work of some 43 founders of operations research. In particular, it considers the links between soft operations research (OR) and these founders. Several of the founders were direct influencers of the soft OR proponents, whereas others related to the context, process, and content of soft OR. Coupled with the deductive and inductive reasoning approaches of soft OR, it is argued that soft OR is a legitimate branch of OR. The paper also focuses on the embeddedness of the founders, and the soft OR proponents, in practice and argues that, for academics, engagement with practice has been and will continue to be an important driver for the health and development of operations research

Nitrogen processes in aquatic ecosystems

Executive summary Nature of the problem (science/management/policy) • Freshwater ecosystems play a key role in the European nitrogen (N) cycle, both as a reactive agent that transfers, stores and processes N loadings from the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, and as a natural environment severely impacted by the increase of these loadings. Approaches • This chapter is a review of major processes and factors controlling N transport and transformations for running waters, standing waters, groundwaters and riparian wetlands. Key findings/state of knowledge • The major factor controlling N processes in freshwater ecosystems is the residence time of water, which varies widely both in space and in time, and which is sensitive to changes in climate, land use and management. • The effects of increased N loadings to European freshwaters include acidification in semi-natural environments, and eutrophication in more disturbed ecosystems, with associated loss of biodiversity in both cases. • An important part of the nitrogen transferred by surface waters is in the form of organic N, as dissolved organic N (DON) and particulate organic N (PON). This part is dominant in semi-natural catchments throughout Europe and remains a significant component of the total N load even in nitrate enriched rivers. • In eutrophicated standing freshwaters N can be a factor limiting or co-limiting biological production, and control of both N and phosphorus (P) loading is oft en needed in impacted areas, if ecological quality is to be restored. Major uncertainties/challenges • The importance of storage and denitrifi cation in aquifers is a major uncertainty in the global N cycle, and controls in part the response of catchments to land use or management changes. In some aquifers, the increase of N concentrations will continue for decades even if efficient mitigation measures are implemented now. • Nitrate retention by riparian wetlands has oft en been highlighted. However, their use for mitigation must be treated with caution, since their effectiveness is difficult to predict, and side effects include increased DON emissions to adjacent open waters, N2O emissions to the atmosphere, and loss of biodiversity. • In fact, the character and specific spatial origins of DON are not fully understood, and similarly the quantitative importance of indirect N2O emissions from freshwater ecosystems as a result of N leaching losses from agricultural soils is still poorly known at the regional scale. • These major uncertainties remain due to the lack of adequate monitoring (all forms of N at a relevant frequency), especially – but not only – in the southern and eastern EU countries. Recommendations (research/policy) • The great variability of transfer pathways, buffering capacity and sensitivity of the catchments and of the freshwater ecosystems calls for site specific mitigation measures rather than standard ones applied at regional to national scale. • The spatial and temporal variations of the N forms, the processes controlling the transport and transformation of N within freshwaters, require further investigation if the role of N in influencing freshwater ecosystem health is to be better understood, underpinning the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive for European freshwaters

Public Health in the 1980s and 1990s: Decline and rise?

Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.First published by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, 2006.©The Trustee of the Wellcome Trust, London, 2006.All volumes are freely available online at: www.history.qmul.ac.uk/research/modbiomed/wellcome_witnesses/Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 12 October 2004. Introduction by Professor Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.The 1974 reorganization of the National Health Service was largely seen as a disaster for the public health profession. The post of Medical Officer of Health, with its links to local government, was replaced by the community physician, located within health services. The technician-manager rather than the activist role predominated: community medicine doctors carried little weight by comparison with their clinical colleagues. Chaired by Professor Virginia Berridge this Witness Seminar examined the decline and rise of 'public health' both nationally and internationally in the 1980s and 1990s: the impact of the 1988 Acheson Report on public health medicine on a demoralized profession; the role of new ideas about health promotion imported from the international scene; the rise of evidence-based medicine and health services research, and their impact on public health; and the movement for multidisciplinary public health (MDPH) as a new avenue for public health from the 1990s. Participants included Professor Sir Donald Acheson, Professor John Ashton, Professor Nick Black, Professor David Blane, Dr Tim Carter, Sir Iain Chalmers, Dr Aileen Clarke, Dr June Crown, Dr Jeff French, Professor Alan Glynn, Ms Shirley Goodwin, Professor Rod Griffiths, Professor Walter Holland, Professor Klim McPherson, Dr Ornella Moscucci, Dr Geoffrey Rivett, Professor Alwyn Smith and Professor Ann Taket. Berridge V, Christie D A, Tansey E M. (eds) (2006) Public health in the 1980s and 1990s: Decline and rise? Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine, vol. 26. London: The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL.The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL is funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is a registered charity, no. 210183

'Sedimented histories' and 'embodied legacies': Creating an evaluative framework for understanding public engagement with the First World War

This article reflects on the development of a new methodological framework for the evaluation of the impact of the Centre for Hidden Histories, one of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's First World War Engagement Centres. It shows how through evaluative processes such as academic and community partner Shared Experience Workshops, and community-focused Reflection Workshops, the historical, social, cultural and economic benefits of the centre can be highlighted. It also demonstrates how public engagement in these community history projects has resulted in the identification of new 'embodied legacies' (Facer and Enright, 2016) and heretofore marginalized 'sedimented histories' (Lloyd and Moore, 2015). These lessons in evaluation can be taken forward to inform future national commemorative moments, such as the centenary of the Second World War.This research has been conducted as part of the AHRC Centre for Hidden Histories. First at the University of Nottingham (June 2016 – September 2018), and then at the University of Derby (September 2018 – present)

Seguridad emocional y relaciones familiares de estudiantes universitarios españoles

[Abstract] This study is grounded on Systems Theory and Emotional Security Theory, and aims at extending past work by examining relations among children’s emotional security in the family system and the quality of family relationships among college students, a population scarcely addressed by the Emotional Security Theory. Participants were 236 female and male students attending a public Spanish University (meanage = 20.13 years old). We used the Security in the Family System Scale (SIFS), the Family Stress Scale, the Family Satisfaction Scale, the Bidirectional Parent-Adolescent Relationships Scale (BiPAR), and measures of destructive and constructive interparental conflict. The variables “living with family” and “parental divorce” were also studied. Results showed that parental divorce related to higher family stress, less interparental conflict resolution and worse bidirectional relationships with fathers. There were not significant differences in any of the variables under analyses between students who lived with their families while at college compared to those who did not live with their families. Emotional security in the family explained 52% of the variance of family satisfaction. This study has theoretical implications as it applies Emotional Security Theory to study young adults from divorced and intact families and who either live or not with their families while attending college. Our results agree and support this Theory. It also has practical implications for mental health and counselling services pointing to potential risk and protective family variables in college students.[Resumen] Este trabajo tiene como base teórica la Teoría Sistémica y la Teoría de la Seguridad Emocional, y su objetivo es ampliar estudios previos al analizar las relaciones entre la seguridad emocional en el sistema familiar y la calidad de las relaciones familiares de los estudiantes universitarios, una población poco estudiada desde la Teoría de la Seguridad Emocional. Participaron 236 hombres y mujeres que estudiaban en una universidad pública española (mediaedad = 20.13 años). Se usó la Escala de Seguridad en el Sistema Familiar (SIFS), La Escala de Estrés Familiar, La Escala de Satisfacción Familiar y la Escala de Relaciones Bidireccionales Padres-Hijos (BiPAR), así como medidas de conflicto interparental constructivo y destructivo. También se consideraron las variables “vivir con la familia” y “divorcio de los padres”. Los resultados indicaron que el divorcio de los progenitores se relacionó con mayor estrés familiar, menos resolución constructiva de los conflictos y peores relaciones bidireccionales con los padres. No se hallaron diferencias significativas entre los estudiantes que vivían con sus familias y los que no. La seguridad emocional explicaba el 52% de la varianza de la satisfacción familiar. Este trabajo tiene implicaciones teóricas al aplicar la teoría de la Seguridad Emocional al estudio de jóvenes adultos de familias intactas y con padres divorciados, y que vivían o no con sus familias mientras estudiaban en la Universidad. Los resultados se ajustan y sustentan dicha Teoría. Igualmente tiene implicaciones prácticas para los servicios de apoyo al señalar variables familiares de riesgo y protectoras de los universitarios.

Acknowledgements

https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/thdabooks/1021/thumbnail.jp

Reports of the county commissioners, county treasurer, and other officers of Cheshire county, for the year ending December 31, 1896.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a county in the state of New Hampshire