Systems Theory – Primer Part II
Cybernetics The second major classical systems theory is cybernetics, which originated from a cross-disciplinary group of mathematicians, social scientists and neuroscientists.  The original key thought leaders include Gregory Bateson, Margaret Mead, Warren McCulloch, John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener.  They focused on the organizational patterns of systems, especially communication patterns.  Capra (1997) asserts that the concept of feedback is one of cybernetics’ major contributions.  A feedback loop exists in a network as a connection between elements of the network in which some causal element

Systems Theory – A Primer – Part 1
I have sorely neglected to post on this blog, because I’ve been busy writing papers!  So, I am catching up with posts for a course I completed during the summer and one that I’m just completing now.  This is the first of a series on systems theory. General Systems Theory Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1972) can be called the “father” of General Systems Theory, which is one of two classical systems theory streams of thought (the other is cybernetics).  Bertalanffy traces the roots of systems theory back to Aristotle, who purportedly said “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” Bertalanffy clai

Springboard to Act II
I completed my portfolio review via a phone conference discussion with Dr. Valerie Bentz and Dr. Keith Melville on September 2. This brief summary outlines the key points of my Portfolio Review discussion: Keith commented that I present a self