Nanette Chadwick Faculty Sustainability Workshop May 12, 2015 Systems Thinking: Concepts for Problem...
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Transcript of Nanette Chadwick Faculty Sustainability Workshop May 12, 2015 Systems Thinking: Concepts for Problem...
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Nanette ChadwickFaculty Sustainability Workshop
May 12, 2015
Systems Thinking: Concepts for Problem Solving
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SYSTEMS THINKING:
-- understands systems as dynamic wholes rather than as collections of parts,
as webs of interdependent connections that create emerging patterns.
-- sees isolated events in the larger context of emergent patterns as they unfold through time.
-- sees how the parts within wholes interrelate, and identifies leverage points to lead to desired outcomes.
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Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static 'snapshots.' It is a set of general principles -- distilled over the course of the twentieth century, spanning fields as diverse as the physical and social sciences, engineering, and management.... During the last thirty years, these tools have been applied to understand a wide range of corporate, urban, regional, economic, political, ecological, and even psychological systems. And systems thinking is a sensibility -- for the subtle interconnectedness that gives living systems their unique character.
Peter Senge
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"All the important problems we face are systemic problems: the survival of the planet's ecology, world peace, the elimination of hunger and disease, the education of youth, and social justice--just to name a few. Over the past several decades the systemic nature of these complex problems has gradually entered the public's consciousness. Complex problems are systemic, complex problems are counterintuitive, systemic problems are everywhere, systemic problems are messy problems."
Hutchins
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TOOLS
Describe what you observe.
Behavior over Time Graphs
Causal Loop Diagrams, Leverage Points
Identify mental models
ICEBERG MODEL
• React to Events – What do we notice?
• Describe the Patterns and Trends
• Identify the Systemic Structures - causal relationships
• Transform our Mental Models
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STEPS FOR USING TOOLS:[See handout]
(1) Observe an event or phenomenon.
EXAMPLE: Americans consume a large amount of fast food.
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(2) Describe patterns and trendsBehavior over time Graph (BOTG)
TIME – define your scale! – seconds, days, years?
BEH
AV
IOR
–
be s
peci
fic
– define y
our
scale
!-Represent your perception-General trends
OR
-Data intensive-Detailed
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Trends in fast food consumption
1960 Time (years) 2010
Am
ou
nt
of
fast
food
con
su
med
per
pers
on
per
year
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Average U.S. Food Expenditure Shares:At-Home vs.Away-from-Home. Source: Budget shares based on data from Food Expenditures Data Set, ERS, USDA; at http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-expenditures.aspx.
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(3) Identify system structure.
What are causes and effects of the trend in higher fast food consumption?
CAUSES: EFFECTS:
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Create causal loop diagrams (CLDs):
-- do not have to be circular-- can simply show flow from causes to events, and then to effects-- may be several layers deep (root causes, ultimate effects)
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Increasing fast food consumption
Eat more fast
foods
Do less cooking,
more free time
Fill schedule with
activities
Tight schedule, little time to
cook
Need quick meals
Positive and negative feedback
cyclesand their effects
Where are potential leverage
points to alter trends?
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Unclassified document from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – 12/2009
CLD’s may
be simple
to VERY
COMPLEX
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BOTGs describe WHAT happens in a
system(observed patterns)
CLDs explain WHY(BEWARE: CLDs are always a
simplified representation of reality!)
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(4) Transform mental models.
-- this step does not always occur--many blocks, pressures-- does not have to happen, for systems thinking to be valuable-- creation of cognitive dissonance is valuable
What is the thinking that perpetuates these systemic structures?
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Systems thinking:-- tools can be applied to any event or phenomenon.-- Identifies the underlying causes and ultimate effects of trends-- allows students to make connections among isolated phenomena
-- can alter mental models-- empowers perspective, identifies leverage points for change in systems