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Gerard de Zeeuw (11 March 1936) is a Dutch scientist and professor Mathematical modelling of complex social systems at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A scientist, in the broadest sense refers to any person that engages in a systematic activity to acquire Knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices Note The term model has a different meaning in Model theory, a branch of Mathematical logic. The University of Amsterdam ( Universiteit van Amsterdam in Dutch) is a comprehensive research University located in the heart of the city of Amsterdam

Contents

Biography

Gerard de Zeeuw was born in 1936 in Banjoewangi Indonesia, in the former Dutch Indies, to relatively well-to-do middle class parents and one older brother. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Regency of Banyuwangi is located at the easternmost end of the Indonesian island of Java, and it is a very strategic area for one who wants to go to Bali The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Gerard spent part of the Second World War in Japanese prison camps. In secondary school a Dutch professor of sociology, Free van Heek, allowed him access to his personal library and stimulated him to write his first paper—about action. [1] He studied in Mathematics and physics at the Leiden University, and continued with Statistics and Econometrics at the Erasmus University with Jan Tinbergen en Henk Theil. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Leiden University (Universiteit Leiden located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest University in The Netherlands. Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection analysis interpretation or explanation and presentation of Data. Econometrics is concerned with the tasks of developing and applying Quantitative or Statistical methods to the study and elucidation of economic principles Erasmus University Rotterdam is a university in the Netherlands, located in Rotterdam. Jan Tinbergen ( The Hague, April 12, 1903 June 9, 1994 The Hague) Dutch Economist, was awarded At the Stanford University he further studied mathematical psychology, with Patrick Suppes en Bob Estes. Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in Mathematical psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on Mathematical modeling of perceptual cognitive and motor processes and on the establishment Patrick Colonel Suppes (b 1922 Tulsa OK is an American Philosopher who has made significant contributions to Philosophy of science, theory of Back in Holland at the University of Amsterdam he received his Ph. The University of Amsterdam ( Universiteit van Amsterdam in Dutch) is a comprehensive research University located in the heart of the city of Amsterdam D. with the thesis entitled Model thinking in psychology.

De Zeeuw worked almost four decades at the University of Amsterdam from 1964 until 2001. The University of Amsterdam ( Universiteit van Amsterdam in Dutch) is a comprehensive research University located in the heart of the city of Amsterdam Since 1974 he has been full professor, charged with 'Research methodology' in the areas of adult education, social work and social helping, community development and social theory. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Since 1993 he is full professor in the University of Amsterdam charged with Mathematical modelling of complex social systems. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Since 1994 he is also visiting professor at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside in the area of systems and management, and at the London School of Economics in the field of social and organizational psychology. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) The University of Lincoln is an English University in Lincolnshire whose origins can be traced back to the 19th century The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the

During three years he lectured at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. He was elected twice as Fellow of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) in Wassenaar, the Netherlands. The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS in Wassenaar, the Netherlands is an independent Research institute [2]

De Zeeuw has sat on the Editorial Boards of the "Journals of Statistica Neerlandica" and "Systemica", and was Editor-in-chief of this Journal. In the 1990s he became associate editor of the Systems Research and Behavioral Science and the Journal of Research Practice since it's beginning in 2005. Systems Research and Behavioral Science is an international scientific journal for theory and research in the fields of Systems sciences. Journal of Research Practice (JRP is a peer-reviewed Electronic journal with a transdisciplinary focus published as an Open access journal, i

Gerard de Zeeuw has been organizationally active. With Albert Hanken in 1970 he was cofounder and first president of the Dutch Systems Group. The Dutch Systems Group, or Netherlands Society for Systems Research or Systeemgroep Nederland, is a society in the Netherlands for Systems theory, With the Society for General Systems Research and others in 1980 they founded the International Federation for Systems Research, first presidented by George Klir until 1986 and by Gerard de Zeeuw from 1992 to 1994. The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS is an organization for interdisciplinary collaboration and synthesis of Systems sciences. The International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR is an international federation for global and local societies in the field of Systems science. George Jiri Klir (born 1932 Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech-American Computer scientist and professor of Systems sciences at the Center At the University of Amsterdam he has been dean of the Faculty of Andragology, Chair of the department of research methodology in the Faculty of Psychology, and Board member of the university. He is on the Advisory Board of the International Institute for General Systems Studies. The International Institute for General Systems Studies (IIGSS is an American non-profit scholastic Organization for the advancement of scientific studies and education He is extraordinary member of the Dutch Institute of Psychologists, for his efforts to promote the study of psychology, and honorary member of the United Kingdom Systems Society. He organized more than 100 conferences, in different disciplines. [3]

Some of his old students are the scientists Debiprasad Dash and Hector Ponce, editors of the Journal of Research Practice. Journal of Research Practice (JRP is a peer-reviewed Electronic journal with a transdisciplinary focus published as an Open access journal, i

Work

Gerard de Zeeuw area of concern is action in society: specifically, action to improve. History The first government bus services available to the general public appeared in 1926 running from Eastlake to Ainslie. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions De Zeeuw notes that traditional approaches are inclined to generate side-effects. These are not only unpredictable: they are also usually undesirable (negative): they lead to an undermining of the intended assistance, or the creation of new problems that disable, leading to deterioration. Help given by experts undermines the independence and autonomy of those helped: those helped are disabled and, in a manner, disenfranchised by the very act of helping. To help in such a way that the act of providing help reduces the ability of those helped to help themselves is. The central problem that de Zeeuw tackles, is to facilitate helping to be carried out in such a manner that it leads to betterment by reducing unwanted side-effects and by empowering those helped to help themselves. [4]

De Zeeuw has published widely concerning matters of research design and knowledge creation, social work, human action, mathematical modelling of complex social systems and agro-systems. A study design is an analytic approach to conduct an Epidemiological investigation such as a Clinical trial. Note The term model has a different meaning in Model theory, a branch of Mathematical logic. Social structure is a term frequently used in Sociology and Social theory — yet rarely defined or clearly conceptualised (Abercrombie et al [5]

Andragology

Andragology, the discipline of human action from the Greek, combines interests both practical: adult education, social helping, support through the built environment; and theoretical: the acquisition of supportive knowledge. Andragogy is the process of engaging adult learners in the structure of the learning experience In terms of the breadth of this definition, Andragology, as a field, remains more or less unique to the Netherlands. [1]

A basic question here for Gerard de Zeeuw was, what resources and knowledge were available or might be brought to clients—as well as therapists—which would provide strength or solace democratically. Such knowledge would support people becoming actors, bestow actorship, and create co-ordinated collectives. [1]

Conferences

Gerard de Zeeuw has organized over 100 conferences.

Interaction of actors theory

Gerard de Zeeuw has kept interesting in exploring, what happens when observations cannot be combined so they "stand on their own", and cannot be transmitted through the language of variables. A major area of exploration is when one distinguishes between observers such as the above and well-delineated collectives of observers that behave like one. Such collectives may be characterized, for example, by members sharing intentions or values, or a special psychology. Especially interesting is when they are self-organizing as the result of members or actors interacting. [1]

Gerard de Zeeuw was, among his most notable associates of Gordon Pask and a key contributor to the development of Interaction of actors theory. Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask (* June 28 1928 in Derby; † March 28 1996 London) was an English cybernetician and psychologist who Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask (* June 28 1928 in Derby; † March 28 1996 London) was an English cybernetician and psychologist who For de Zeeuw, the notion of “actor” is always central: improvement is the result of actors acting. While this position might seem commonplace, it is crucial to keep it in mind. For, in de Zeeuw’s world, improvement involves making into actors those for whom improvement is intended. Based on the generation of high quality observations, the actions we can take are:[4]

Acting to change the quality of our observations to high quality, in de Zeeuw’s interpretation, we act to create improvement. Since we make high quality observations so that we may act, and act to make them high quality observations, we are involved in a self-referential, bootstrapping activity. [4]

Research Methodology

Research approaches such as reductionism, according to De Zeeuw, are simply are standard models for action. Reductionism can either mean (a an approach to understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts or to simpler or more fundamental things Reductionism is a tool invented to identify observations that "stand on their own". They create self-similar sense data, extended from the "observational turn" of the 17th century. The 20th century brought a further "linguistic turn" in scientific methodology, as well as "improving observations" to "improving whatever is needed to maintain the required collectives". [1]

In the field of Research Methodology De Zeeuw never claimed a new paradigm or methodology, however. He sees himself as one in a long chain of researchers, each trying to deal with new challenges. These challenges include:[1]

Support, Survival and Culture

His largest research project was entitled 'Support, Survival and Culture', funded on a personal basis by the Ministry of Education of the Netherlands (Dfl 10,000,000). This project represented a culmination of his long time work on research methods to study and implement ëuser valuesí, and on research designs to support individual and social action. An international evaluation committee judged the project's results to be 'excellent'. [3]

Systems theory

In the Dutch scientific community systems theory since the 1950s has evolved along different paths:

In the Netherlands this last type of systems theory explicitly developed in the Andragogy, where Gerard de Zeeuw lead a movement. Andragogy is the process of engaging adult learners in the structure of the learning experience [6]

Theory of communication systems

The mathematical theory of communication of Claude Shannon added a reflexive turn to the reception in communication. There is much discussion in the academic world of Communication as to what actually constitutes communication Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30 1916 – February 24 2001 an American Electronic engineer and Mathematician, is "the father of Information The signal can be considered as a message which contains an expected information value. Upon reception, the signal can obtain an update value for the receiving system. The system which receives the message is able to provide the information contained in the message with meaning if this system is sufficiently complex for the reflexive reconstruction of the information contained in the message. [7]

Besides Shannon's mathematical theory a linguistic turn in the theory of communication systems emerged with the work of Luhmann, Pask and De Zeeuw. Languages enable us to codify the relation between the uncertainty and the meaning of a message. Niklas Luhmann considered language as the operating system of society. Niklas Luhmann ( December 8, 1927 - November 6, 1998) was a German Sociologist, administration expert and a prominent He proposed that "meaning" be considered as the operator of social systems. [7]

Meaning is generated interactively by using language, and can be considered as a reflexive function of language at the level of the social system. Now Gerard de Zeeuw has elaborated Gordon Pask’s paradigm by emphasizing that in a social science design one has to look for "languages" and "reports", rather than for "laws" and "facts". Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask (* June 28 1928 in Derby; † March 28 1996 London) was an English cybernetician and psychologist who De Zeeuw submited that language is the evolutionary achievement which enables us to communicate using two channels for the communication at the same time: a statement can be provided with a meaning and it is expected to contain information. [7][8]

Publications

De Zeeuw has written a dozend books and more then 150 articles. [9] Books, a selection:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Martha Vahl, Gerard de Zeeuw: models, systems, support and research: A bio-memo, paper 2002.
  2. ^ G. de Zeeuw, Netherlands Institute of Advanced Study, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Gerard de Zeeuw, biography 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d Ranulph Glanville, Doing the Right Thing: the Problems of… Gerard de Zeeuw, Academic Guerilla., paper 2002. Ranulph Glanville (born London 13 June, 1946 is a British freelance researcher and theoretician in both Architecture and Cybernetics.
  5. ^ Inaugural Lecture 3rd June 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  6. ^ Gerard Alberts, Duurzame ontwikkelingen de rol van het wiskundig denken, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, zomer 2002
  7. ^ a b c Loet Leydesdorff (2002). Loet Leydesdorff ( 21 August, 1948 Djakarta (Dutch Indies is a Dutch Sociologist, Cyberneticist and Senior Lecturer at the University "The Communication Turn in the Theory of Social Systems". In: Systems Research and Behavioural Science 19:pp. 129-136.
  8. ^ Gerard de Zeeuw (1997). "Second Order Organizational Research". In: J. Achterbergh and others (eds. ), Organizational Cybernetics. Nijmegen Business School, Nijmegen.
  9. ^ A list of more than 150 of De Zeeuw's publications from 1969 to 2001 are listed in Festschrift Professor Gerard de Zeeuw, 31 January 2002. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

External links

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