Map Location
H, 3
Thread Location
Page 35
Scape
Author
Andrea Phelps
Related Artifacts
Documents
Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science. (n.d.). General System Theory: Origins of General System Theory (GST). Retrieved from http://www.bertalanffy.org/c_26.html
Commentary: Describes not just the origins of GST but also what it entails and some of the effects it has had on science and other fields.
Drack, M. (2008). Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s Early System Approach. Proceedings of the 52nd annual meeting of the ISSS. Retrieved from http://journals.isss.org/index.php/ proceedings52nd/article/view/1032/322
Commentary: Discusses the biological aspects and uses of GST. Another good look at why the theory was necessary and where it came from, even though it only applies to the uses of the theory in biology.
Drack, M., et al. (2007). On the making of a system theory of life: Paul A Weiss and Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s conceptual connection. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 82(4), 349–373.
Commentary: Reviews the early beginnings of the GST and the drive of Weiss and Bertalanffy’s desire to fix the mechanical nature of study in biology in the 1920s. A helpful look at what brought about the various system theories that Bertalanffy and his friends and colleagues worked on.
Jiménez-López, E. (n.d.). System science: Is it necessary? Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science. Retrieved from http://www.bertalanffy.org/c_39.html
Commentary: Most useful for its definition of open system, this essay does help prove the lasting use and relevancy of Bertalanffy’s theories.
von Bertalanffy, L. (1950). An outline of General System Theory. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 1(2), 134–165. Retrieved from http://www.isnature.org/Events/2009/Summer/r/Bertalanffy1950-GST_Outline_SELECT.pdf
Commentary: Bertalanffy’s presentation of his theory and what led to the creation of GST. Not only does he describe the trends in biology but similar trends in the other sciences. This may be satisfactory for the context of the Atlas, but if there are more librarian-specific trends and systems that would help enlighten the reader, those might be of more use in this arena.
Zadeh, L. A. (1962). From circuit theory to system theory. Proceedings of the IRE. May 1962. Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=4066785
Commentary: Explains the reason that System Theory became adopted by electricians and some of the problems the field has with System Theory. Compounded with the information on what drove Bertalannfy to create the theory in his own field of biology, this gives a slightly better picture of what GST evolved from.
Presentations
Lankes, R. D. (2008). If they build it they will come. Paper presented at the Rethinking Access to Information IFLA Satellite conference, Boston, MA. Retrieved from https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/blog/?p=523