Journal of
Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
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 ISSN: 1690-4524 (Online)




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TABLE OF CONTENTS





Participatory Research with Schools to Develop Serious Games for Information Security Awareness
Margit Scholl, Regina Schuktomow
Pages: 1-8
ABSTRACT:
Two different research projects developed by the TH Wildau on information security awareness—“Security” and “SecAware4-school”—are focused on sensitizing pupils to the issue of in-formation security in everyday school life by means of experi-ence-oriented scenarios geared to teaching awareness. At the same time, their teachers will be trained, and the parents kept informed about specific measures. The development of such learning scenarios took place in participative dialogue with creative workshops. The learning scenarios are based on the integration of three learning methods: Game-Based Learning, Accelerated Learning, and Authentic Learning. The article in-troduces the previous game-based learning scenarios for schools.


Difficulties in Determining Data Breach Impacts
John W. Coffey
Pages: 9-13
ABSTRACT:
Internet searches for information regarding the impacts of data breaches yield a large amount of data. While significant effort is made to determine the costs associated with data breaches, important questions can be asked regarding the accuracy of such reporting. This article examines some of the drivers of difficulty in determining the impacts of data breaches, both from the perspective of the organization that is breached, and, possibly more importantly, from the viewpoint of individuals whose data is breached. This article will make the case that, from the start of the process in forensic analysis, difficulties can be detected. Separately, dis-incentives to report more than required by law is another impediment. In the United States, no uniform reporting requirement exists. Ultimate impacts on the individuals whose data is breached are often delayed, based upon incomplete self-reports, and difficult to summarize. This article will make the case that all these factors negatively impact the quality of data breach reporting.


Reflections on Interdisciplanary Communications - Metaperspectives; Exploring the Affective Domain
Bruce Peoples
Pages: 14-17
ABSTRACT:
Innovation and/or research performed by Inter, Cross, and Trans disciplinary teams requires individuals to develop an understanding of how their discipline relates to other disciplines. Such understanding is obtained primarily by effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communications. However, due to each domain’s institutional and psychological complexities, gaining adequate understandings of multiple disciplines can be problematic and at times seemingly impossible. This can lead to failures of the intents and goals of Inter, Cross, and Trans disciplinary teams. This reflection paper will propose an approach to ease gaining of understanding between individuals from different disciplines in an affective domain context, and possibly lay a foundation for applying affective domain rigor to how understanding between individuals occurs over time.


Transdisciplinary Research: Bridging the Great Divide between Academic Knowledge Production and Societal Knowledge Requests
Donald Ropes
Pages: 18-22
ABSTRACT:
This paper is based on a keynote address given at the 2019 IIILs 2018 conference in Orlando, Florida on March 14th. In that address, I spoke about how Design Science Research could help bridge the rigor-relevance gap in management science, and probably in other fields as well. I showed that by weaving design, testing and iterations of the two processes together in a logical and systematic manner, new actionable knowledge can be created along with new scientific knowledge. In this paper I explore the concept of rigor-relevance from a different approach, namely Transdisciplinary Research. Transdisciplinary Research is a process that involves both academic researchers and individuals from professional practice collaborating on finding a possible solution to a complex problem. Knowledge artifacts from the Transdisciplinary Research process contribute to the body of scientific knowledge while at the same time developing solution concepts that can be used by practitioners. In other words bridge the great divide referred to in the title of the paper. Transdisciplinary Research is a complex process involving diverse stakeholders. This requires participants have or acquire new and different competences in order to be effective.


Integration of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) with Real World Problem-Solving
Suzanne K. Lunsford
Pages: 23-26
ABSTRACT:
The use of inquiry-based learning (IBL) labs related to real-world issues in the 21st century has been the focus of our problem based labs. Every day the quality and quantity of water resources are expected to define the 21st century and the future of the planet which is nearly seven billion people. The electroanalytical, analytical techniques and various instrumentation utilized in the inquiry-based learning labs were to educate our students about the real world based problems and environmental concerns and how to detect various carcinogenic compounds. The use of learning various techniques to analyze the samples involved voltammetry, Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX). The undergraduate students with carbon nanotubes integrated with conductive polymers and nanoparticles as modified conductive working electrodes to detect various carcinogenic compounds by various voltammetric techniques without the need of prior separation were the main focus of these inquiry- based labs. The collaboration with universities and industry have allowed these labs to be IBL (Inquiry-Based Learning) with real-world detection of heavy metals in water to carcinogens thus assist students in understanding the importance of chemistry.


Internet of Things (IoT) and Emerging Application
Mohammad Ilyas
Pages: 27-31
ABSTRACT:
Internet of Things (IoT) provides an environment where everything around us is connected and is uniquely identifiable. This pervasive and ubiquitous environment of connectivity can be very conveniently used for collecting information and enabling intelligent decision-making in many applications that we use daily. Use of appropriate sensors in IoT provides capability of sensing any desired type of information from the surroundings including temperature, light, humidity, seismic vibrations, radiation levels, presence or nature of biological organisms, geological features and more. Recent advancements have made it possible to make things (as in IoT) or objects small in size, powerful in processing, and energy efficient for operational longevity. These aspects of IoT are prompting many emerging applications including in the fields of health, transportation, agriculture, energy, and environment. Hence this evolving field of Internet of Things will be interdisciplinary in nature and will certainly provide a platform for individuals from multiple disciplines to work together. This paper presents an attempt to capture the current state of IoT, its emerging applications, the opportunities it offers, and the challenges it poses.


Creative Communication Strategies for Multigenerational Students
Risa Blair
Pages: 32-35
ABSTRACT:
It is essential to be inclusive in online communication strategies to connect with all students. The challenges in the online environment are many. Professors do not necessarily see their students, so they are limited in their ability to communicate and make connections. To that end, it is important for professors to make every effort to reach all students, particularly students of all ages. The focus of this paper is to explore the backgrounds and technology used by the different generations, preferences for communications, and strategies to engage learners.


A Vocational Approach to Universal Design in Learning (UDL)
Russell Jay Hendel
Pages: 36-41
ABSTRACT:
The Universal Design in Learning (UDL) approach advocates tailoring teaching individually for i) instruction, ii) assessment, and iii) motivation. The first contribution of this article is to advocate a fourth dimension of UDL, curriculum, that is, tailoring curriculum individually to a student’s vocational needs. A second contribution of the article is to show that a vocational emphasis is not only about improving education but also about improving psychological well-begin. We show that vocational placement as therapy is used to treat mental illness, substance abuse, and incarceration. We also show support for the vocational approach at the government, state, and religion level. Several countries are already using this approach. The paper notes the consistency of this approach with the Holland vocational psychological theory. The paper concludes with a call for educators to seriously consider adopting this approach.


Distinction-Based Consulting and Decisions – Social Systems Theory and Second-Order Cybernetics as Premise for Powerful Decisions
Tilia Stingl de Vasconcelos Guedes, Philipp Belcredi
Pages: 42-48
ABSTRACT:
If you travel or interact with larger companies, you probably have noticed some novel practices:
  • The next step in automation for travelers has arrived: Recently, air passengers have been able to check in not only themselves but also their luggage.
  • The banking sector is in transition. The number of branches and employees is declining; business is increasingly taking place on the internet and smartphones.
  • “Robot lawyers” that support or automate legal processes are the new trend in legal technology. They are expected to offer efficient alternatives to legal services.

The above-mentioned examples illustrate a trend that seems to be unstoppable: Automated processes and even artificial intelligence are taking over the services sector. This is the economic sector, where the human workforce was once an indispensable source of added value.

Such developments may lead to further questions about our future. From a social system-theoretical point of view, for instance, organizations are built through the communication of decisions. However, many of the current trends in business are based on creating machines or procedures that make decisions for people. If machines decide instead of humans, how can we validate humans as decision makers?

In this paper, we want to focus on the above question using premises of social system theory and ideas of second-order cybernetics as guides for (a) a better understanding of the dynamics; (b) self-reflection; and (c) adapted perspectives for upcoming challenges.


Epistemology and Metaphysics in Interdisciplinary Communication: Insights from Ian Barbour and Bernard Lonergan, SJ
Fr. Joseph R. Laracy
Pages: 49-54
ABSTRACT:
Interdisciplinary communication is a significant area of concern for researchers who engage in scholarship across academic fields as well as practitioners whose work is intrinsically interdisciplinary. Two twentieth century scholars, Ian Barbour and Bernard Lonergan, SJ, develop novel approaches to promoting interdisciplinary communication (and in some cases interdisciplinary “integration”) by specifying a common metaphysical and epistemological framework for two very different fields. In this article, we concisely explicate their fundamental approaches and also critically engage particular aspects of their work. These philosophical approaches to interdisciplinary communication may be beneficial for both first-order cybernetics, with its emphasis on communication & control in biological and engineering systems, as well as second-order cybernetics, given its emphasis on epistemology, ethics, self-referentiality, and self-organization of socio-technical systems.



Digital Literacies as an Emerging Imperative in Higher Education
Lorayne Robertson
Pages: 55-60
ABSTRACT:
Definitions of digital literacies can often be located in the literature, but much of the focus has been on the technological advances of online learning tools and the ubiquity of access to information. As a result, less attention has been directed toward aspects of the ethos associated with new literacies and how learning can be impacted and improved. Some examples of ethos issues include the personalization of education, the design of more open, collaborative learning spaces, and the need for student assignments to have high degrees of authenticity and connection to applied settings. This paper explores digital literacy and provides a brief case study that is an example of digital literacy skills applied across disciplines. The author concludes that today’s higher education students need to be strong communicators who can navigate in spaces that are characterized by interdisciplinary discourses and digital literacy skills.


An Interdisciplinary Approach to Machine Learning for Critical Infrastructure Protection
Mario La Manna
Pages: 61-64
ABSTRACT:
Critical infrastructure protection faces increasing challenges, both in quality and in quantity. Most of the present security systems fully rely on automated mechanisms, which replace human operators, in order to perform computation intensive tasks and/or to work in extreme conditions. However, this solution presents some drawbacks with respect to the system performance. In order to provide effective measures against the pressure of new and sophisticated threats, an interdisciplinary approach, based on suitably coupling machine learning with human judgment, results as the right choice. In fact, this solution is particularly helpful for implementing efficient solutions capable of controlling critical scenarios and reacting effectively towards sophisticated threats. This paper discusses the proposed approach and demonstrates that this approach is the best choice for the effective protection of critical infrastructures.


Cybernetics of Observing Systems and Lonergan’s Generalized Empirical Method
Fr. Joseph R. Laracy, Thomas Marlowe, Edgar Valdez, Msgr. Richard Liddy
Pages: 65-70
ABSTRACT:
Cybernetics is inherently interdisciplinary and reflexive; second-order cybernetics stresses reflective interaction of knowledge and action with the observer. The same themes are central to the work of the twentieth century philosopher and theologian, Bernard Lonergan, SJ, and his Generalized Empirical Method. In reading both, one is struck by the resonances and interplay between the two perspectives, especially as applies to the scientist/observer interacting with and reflecting on their disciplines. In this short overview, we present the case that the similarities and differences add value to the study both of the work of Lonergan and of second-order cybernetics, and that Lonergan can be seen in part as an early and illuminating figure for understanding and reflecting upon second-order cybernetics itself.


Competences 4.0 – How to Educate People Today to Live and Work in the World of Tomorrow?
Paweł Poszytek, Mateusz Jezowski
Pages: 71-74
ABSTRACT:
The 4th industrial revolution, also called 4.0 revolution, defined by full automatization of production processes alongside with the rapid development of big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of things and increasing computing power on an unprecedented scale, will cause substantial changes in all aspects of social life worldwide and consequently will require redefinition of our approaches to education. This article discusses what competences, or the so-called competences 4.0, will be mostly needed in order to function effectively in this new reality.


An Interdisciplinary View of Education in the Formal and Natural Sciences – From STEM to STREAM to …
Thomas J. Marlowe, Katherine G. Herbert
Pages: 75-87
ABSTRACT:
STEM is increasingly a focus for education, from primary school through post-secondary (university) level. It is increasingly recognized and critically important, academically, economically, socially, and politically. At the pre-collegiate level, programs have responded to recommendations for the inclusion of the arts and consideration of medicine and the health sciences, yielding STEAM, or in parochial or religiously affiliated schools, STREAM. However, engaging in this STEM, STEAM, STREAM construct can be complicated and costly in classic business, industry and academic structures. It requires key personnel willing to collaborate, fuzzy collaboration structures which can be hard to granularize in the classical silos, and often a vision of understanding how to coordinate and integrate multiple views on a project. In this article, we consider other complementary disciplines and perspectives, including interdisciplinarity and diversity. While some affect primary and secondary education, our main emphasis is on post-secondary undergraduate education in the STEM disciplines, and on approaches to address those concerns within the constraints of a typical major in the STEM disciplines, and also on implications for team structures in STEM enterprises and research.


An Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in the Formal and Natural Sciences – A Proposal
Katherine G. Herbert, Thomas J. Marlowe
Pages: 88-92
ABSTRACT:
We propose a post-baccalaureate certificate framework in STEM, with an emphasis on soft skills, data science, and integration of disciplinary and other perspectives, with support for internships during or following the program. This program can serve multiple purposes. For STEM graduates, it provides additional breadth and depth, while strengthening communication, teamwork, leadership, and other soft skills. For students from other academic programs or returning students, it provides a bridge into STEM graduate study and careers. And for students from underserved and underrepresented communities, or from less intense programs, who may be concerned about their ability to deal with both technical and external challenges, it provides experience, confidence and support. The certificate can be formally integrated into or as a transition into Master’s degree or higher level study STEM, or can be used as a less formal bridge into that study, or can serve as a standalone credential.


North American Solar Electro-Magnetic Induction Detection Network
Bruce Leybourne, Valentino Straser, Kenneth Jones, Hong-Chun Wu, Giovanni Gregori, Louis Hissink
Pages: 93-98
ABSTRACT:
A Radio Finding Detection Network is proposed to detect Solar Electro-Magnetic (EM) Induction effects producing an electromotive force, or voltage, across ancient electrical conducting volcanic rock complexes underlying North America. Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP), climate change, hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, earthquakes, volcanism, and certain types of wildfire outbreaks may be stimulated during a weakening of the solar magnetic field especially during the upcoming solar minimum, increasing Earth’s internal inductance power capable of driving much more violent events. This experimental testing is aimed at globally monitoring geophysical EM events to develop new forecasting methods. North American focus is on the New Madrid Fault, Florida hurricanes, and California wildfire and earthquakes, improving the science of natural disaster forecasting, management, investment, and governance, contributing to better resource-related negotiations and policy debates.


Solution-Focused Consultancy Work – Practice-Oriented Application of Distinction-Based Concepts Integrating Context Factors for Resilient Solutions
Tilia Stingl de Vasconcelos Guedes, Philipp Belcredi
Pages: 99-105
ABSTRACT:
For more than two decades now, systemic and systems-based approaches have been broadly applied in management consultancy. Numerous definitions attempt to describe the added value of a system-based consultancy—and they mostly emphasize a supposedly holistic view of problems and solutions. In Peter Senge’s work The Fifth Discipline, for instance, the organizational learning approach or systems thinking offers perspectives, methods and ideas that are still en vogue.

However, as can be seen in the daily work of a systemic consultant, the greatest impact of this kind of work on leadership issues relies on the very basic concepts of distinction-based approaches as described by George Spencer-Brown or Niklas Luhmann. Being aware that any difference, even one that is perceived as small, may be the difference and then using this awareness as an impulse in the target direction is—as it can be shown in various empirical studies (cf. Steve de Shazer or Insoo Kim Berg)[1]—a very fast way for resilient solutions that include all relevant context factors. Working in organizations as communicating systems on the basis of differentiation/distinction rather than with content or interpretation offers us the possibility to make any goals of any type, even soft ones, manageable and controllable.

This paper uses data from an ongoing qualitative study that is part of Philipp Belcredi’s2 postgraduate work and analyses them from the point of view of theoretical concepts of distinction, second order cybernetics and social systems theory.

This theoretical analysis spots parameters in solution-focused leadership communication that produce more effective leadership outcomes, in terms of both communication and results, and that locate innovative possibilities for consultancy and leadership offered by aspects of second order observations.

[1] See e.g., Shazer, Steve, Putting difference to work. Norton, New York, 1991 or Shazer, Steve &. Berg Insoo Kim, 'What works'. Remarks on research aspects of solution-focused brief therapy. In: Journal of Family Therapy 19, 1997


Communication Training in Multidisciplinary Field: Biomedical Engineering and Symbiosis Engineering
Shigehiro Hashimoto
Pages: 106-111
ABSTRACT:
The biological term of “Symbiosis” is used for the situation of “living together”. The internet system has made a global society with database. The global society includes many kinds of variations: culture, language, and generation. In the global society, symbiosis between systems gave us a lot of multidisciplinary topics. Multidisciplinary communication skill is necessary to handle the topics. The term of “Biomedical Engineering”, on the other hand, is used for the multidisciplinary academic field combining several fields: Biology, Medicine, and Engineering. The field relates to various academic fields. In these field, many topics are picked up for collaboration among the biological systems and engineered systems. Communication is necessary not only between biological systems, but also between biological system and engineered system. Several kinds of multidisciplinary learning- programs including cross-cultural seminars have been practiced among students in the present article. The effectiveness of the multidisciplinary learning has been discussed in relation to “Biomedical Engineering” and “Symbiosis engineering”.


Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) in Archaeology - A Help or Hindrance?
Paul Sage, David Cutting, Andrew McDowell
Pages: 112-115
ABSTRACT:
It’s true to say that technology has a part to play in all modern aspects of life and therefore represents a significant vehicle for inter-disciplinary activities. This paper reviews some personal experiences as a Computer Scientist in terms of collaborative opportunities in research, education and industry. Consideration is given towards how novel technologies can provide a gateway to the promotion of shared interest and examines some recent proposals for joint work with the department of Archaeology at Queen’s University Belfast in utilising drones for data collection and analysis.