2014-05-15

May 15 was the sixteenth meeting for Systems Thinking Ontario. The registration was on Eventbrite.

Theme: Systems Thinking and the Socio-Psychological Perspective

Based on group feedback from the April 17 session on "Systems Thinking and Social Relations", a new program committee for Systems Thinking Ontario was formed.  May 15 represents the first in a series of three sessions, as the program committee gains more input on how to evolve future sessions.  The shift for these three sessions is:

The program committee will reshape future sessions based on (double loop) learning gained in the sessions.

The Socio-Psychological Systems (SPS) perspective was the earliest focus of the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations (even though the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) perspective and Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) perspective developed in parallel).  Two pages from the April 17 session may help place the May 17 session in the larger context of the development of systems thinking.

This three-part series will be confirmed for continuation on June 19 and July 17.

Suggested pre-reading: 

Some of the drivers for the Socio-Psychological Systems Perspective (and of the Tavistock Institute itself) was based on the problems of reintegrating soldiers from World War II back into British society.  This was described in:

This Wilson-Trist-Curle article comes as the first of five themes within the socio-psychological perspective.  The five are listed in the "Introduction to Volume 1" by Eric Trist.

In the "Introduction to A New Social Psychiatry: A World War II Legacy", the Wilson-Trist-Curle article reports on is the idea of a therapeutic community first used to return soldiers to military duties could be applied the aid after soldiers were discharged into civilian life.

Participants should not feel limited to this suggested pre-reading, but should recognize that other attendees may have not read, or are reading differently, that article.

Agenda

Post-meeting artifacts

Bloggers are encouraged to write about their learning and experiences at the meeting. Links will be added to this page.