BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

CREEPING PROBLEMS 1)4)

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Problems that are "the result of long-term, low-grade, and slow-onset cumulative processes". (M.H. GLANTZ, p.12).

GLANTZ adds, significantly, with more specific reference to environmental problems: "Creeping… problems cut across academic disciplines, political ideologies, continents and cultures"

And "Incremental changes in environmental conditions accumulate over time with the eventual result that, after some threshold of change has been crossed, things "suddenly" appear as major degradation"…

"Creeping… problems thus change the environment in a negative cumulative and, at least for some period of time, invisible way. Both governments and individuals tend to continue to view their "usual activities" as acceptable".

A further trap is that: "Scientific uncertainty can also foster inaction" (Ibid). It can even be used by pressure interest groups in order to block needed adaptations.

→ Change (Rates of); Effect (Delayed); Risk makers

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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