ISSS...
Origin and Purpose of the ISSS
The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is among the first and oldest organizations devoted to interdisciplinary inquiry into the nature of complex systems, and remains perhaps the most broadly inclusive. The Society was initially conceived in 1954 at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport. In collaboration with James Grier Miller, it was formally established as an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1956. Originally founded as the Society for General Systems Research, the society adopted its current name in 1988 to reflect its broadening scope.
The initial purpose of the society was "to encourage the development of theoretical systems which are applicable to more than one of the traditional departments of knowledge," with the following principal aims:
- to investigate the isomorphy of concepts, laws, and models in various fields, and to help in useful transfers from one field to another;
- to encourage the development of adequate theoretical models in areas which lack them;
- to eliminate the duplication of theoretical efforts in different fields; and
- to promote the unity of science through improving the communication among specialists.
In the intervening years, the ISSS has expanded its scope beyond purely theoretical and technical considerations to include the practical application of systems methodologies to problem solving. Even more importantly, it has provided a forum where scholars and practitioners from across the disciplinary spectrum, representing academic, business, government, and non-profit communities, can come together to share ideas and learn from one another. Please contact us for further information.
Welcome to the ISSS World web site!
If you're new to the ISSS, you can read about is origins and purposes on the About the ISSS page.
ISSS World is now the main content platform for the society. There are now only two userid/passwords for the society: one for ISSS World (that also works on ProjectsISSS), and one for JournalsISSS (abstract submissions for the annual meeting).
The old web site is available temporarily at http://isss.org/index-old.html.
ISSS Printed Proceedings or CDROMs Available
If you would like to purchase a printed copy of the ISSS2008 Conference Proceedings or selected previous years, please go to the Publications page.
http://isss.org/world/en/bulletins
Printed proceedings are now available through an arrangement with Curran Associates to print on demand paper copies of the CDROM proceedings. These are especially useful for library subscriptions.
CDroms of each year's proceedings are also available to order from the ISSS Office. See the Publications page for details on this option.
The 2009 Annual Conference of the ISSS was held at the University of Queensland, July 12-17
Making Liveable, Sustainable Systems Unremarkable
Hosted by The University of Queensland and the School of Integrative Systems, Brisbane, Australia
and
The Australia New Zealand Systems Group (ANZSYS)
Visit the Brisbane 2009 conference pages on the ISSS site.
There's a "Systems Science" group on Facebook!
The ISSS World web site is one of the places where members convene, but it doesn't have to be the only place!
For those who use Facebook, you can follow this link to the Systems Science group, or just search for "Systems Science" and add yourself.
We'll be less formal over there, for anyone who wants to leave exchange ideas or have discussions. This is an experiment in alternative forms of communication, for anyone that wants to try it out.
David Ing, VP of Communications and Systems Education.
Our Logo
The ISSS logo, derived from the integral sign originally used by the founders of our society, illustrates the society's primary interest in integration and synthesis and can be used to demonstrate these principles. This version of the logo, adopted by ISSS in 1997, was designed by Thomas M. Mandel, the founding webmaster of ISSS.org.
