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Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 13:16:23 -0500
Reply-To:
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members < >
From: System Dynamics Society < >
Organization: System Dynamics Society
Subject: SDS Winter Policy Council Meeting Announcement
Dear Policy Council Members and Other Interested Parties,
The Winter Meeting of the Society Policy Council will be held at the MIT Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, MA) on Friday, January 15, 2010. The meeting will start at 11AM in the Dean's Conference Room (E52-468). We expect the meeting to last a full day. Coffee will be provided in the morning and afternoon as well as lunch midday. We will send out further information regarding parking and driving directions as the date approaches.
The agenda and meeting schedule will be disseminated at the beginning of January along with instructions for posting materials, electronic discussion and voting.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Happy Holidays!
Rogelio Oliva, President (2010)
reply to: <mailto:office@systemdynamics.org> office@systemdynamics.org
2010 Officers and Members of the Policy Council:
President: Rogelio Oliva
President Elect: David Lane
Past President: Erling Moxnes
Founding President: Jay W. Forrester
Secretary: J. Bradley Morrison
Vice President At Large: Joel Rahn
Vice President Chapter Activities: Tim Haslett
Vice President Electronic Presence: Robert L. Eberlein
Vice President Finance: David F. Andersen
Vice President Meetings: Andreas Groessler
Vice President Member Services: Krystyna Stave
Vice President Publications: Deborah Lines Andersen
System Dynamics Review Executive Editor: Brian C. Dangerfield
Policy Council Members: Enzo Bivona, Laura Black, Burak Gneralp, Imrana Umar, Lars Weber, Susan Howick, Birgit Kopainsky, Ignacio Martnez-Moyano, Agata Sawicka, Martin Schaffernicht, Kim Warren, Aldo Zagonel
Rogelio Oliva
Associate Professor
Mays Business School | Wehner 301C - 4217
Texas A&M University | College Station, TX 77843-4217
Ph 979-862-3744 | Fx 979-845-5653 |
http://iops.tamu.edu/faculty/roliva/
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Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 11:23:42 -0500
Reply-To: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
From: Nathan Forrester < >
Subject: Re: SDS Winter PC Meeting - Carbon Neutral System Dynamics Conferences
As a Past President of the Society, I feel compelled to weigh in on this carbon offset proposal.
I suggest that it is inappropriate for the Society to take a position on any political issue including human-induced climate change. The Society is a
scientific organization, not a political advocacy group or an exercise on group-think.
The statement below is unwarranted: "This program aligns well with the underlying philosophy in the Society, both in terms of the effort to contain
climate change, as well as the approach to 'think globally and act locally.'". The philosophy of the Society and the field of system dynamics
have nothing to do with climate change. Neither is "think globally, act locally" a philosophy or motto of the Society. The field of system dynamics
is about using a state variable approach to dynamic feedback modeling, particularly through computer simulation, to test and refine theories about
the world. Although individual members may feel moved to advocacy in one area or another, the Society should promote only further exploration,
challenge, and testing of any and all theories amongst its members.
The statement below also implies that the members of the Society share a common view with respect to the questions surrounding climate change.
Members certainly do NOT agree on the facts, causes, or political implications of the many existing theories about climate.
Furthermore, The Society has no business promoting causes through bundled fees. If some attendees wish support carbonfund.org, that's fine, but most
of the conference attendees in 2009 voted with their money not to make such a donation. Personally, I fail to understand how paying $20 to anyone
affects the carbon-neutrality of my activities. If I travel by airplane or automobile, I contribute to the burning of transportation fuel. Choosing to
support the activities of a group like carbonfund.org is an independent decision I can make whether or not I travel.
I strongly object to the Society:
1) Taking any position with respect to global warming, climate change, or any other political issue, including my own pet ideas, and
2) Bundling a mandatory donation into the conference fee, whether it is called a "carbon offset" or anything else, and
3) Adding an optional donation to any cause (except, perhaps, the Society itself) to the registration and administration process
On a broader note, the drift toward political conformity and advocacy within the Society is disturbing. The Society will (and should) quickly slip into
irrelevancy, if it becomes a platform for promoting a particular set of social or political agendas. I, for one, have found the recent conferences
disappointing because so many papers present weak analyses of topics-of-the-day (e.g. global warming, climate change, sustainability,
socialized healthcare, etc.). Even though I have been a professional SD practitioner all my adult life, at some point I may stop attending
conferences and stop sponsoring the Society, if the trend continues.
Respectfully,
Nathan
________________________
Nathan B. Forrester, Ph.D.
President
Forrester Consulting, LLC
4070 Loomis Avenue
P.O. Box 2407
Boca Grande, FL 33921-2407
Work: (404) 551-2600
Mobile: (770) 309-0509
Fax: (404) 474-1897
From: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members
[mailto:SDS-PC@listserv.albany.edu] On Behalf Of Zagonel, Aldo A
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 12:44 PM
To:
Subject: Re: SDS Winter PC Meeting - Carbon Neutral System Dynamics
Conferences
Dear Members of the Policy Council,
I'd like to bring to your attention a proposal by the Environmental SIG to institutionalize the Carbon Offsetting mechanism for the annual SD conferences, copied below.
We thought it was a great initiative by Allyson Beall and others, to put it in place for the first time at the Albuquerque Conference. This program aligns well with the underlying philosophy in the Society, both in terms of the effort to contain climate change, as well as the approach to "think globally and act locally."
This proposal goes a step further than what was done in Albuquerque, adopting a feature whereby non-participants "opt out." With this change in the procedure, we hope to raise significantly the percentage of registrants that offset their conference-related carbon emissions (see justification in the proposal).
We bring this proposal for discussion, and perhaps deliberation, at this Winter's PC meeting.
Thank you for your time and attention,
Aldo Zagonel
Sandia National Laboratories
(505) 284-6773
Carbon Neutral System Dynamics Conferences
Allyson Beall
Environmental SIG
November 23, 2009
The System Dynamics Society partnered with Carbonfund.org as a means of offsetting the carbon emissions associated with the 27th International
Conference System Dynamics Conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA in July 2009. SDS took the first step in making this event carbon neutral by offsetting 15 tons of the conference emissions and encouraged attendees to offset their individual carbon impact as well. Although the conference had a climate centric theme, participants only offset a small portion of our
carbon footprint, which when combined with the original 15 tons offset by the society came to a 10% total offset. Many participants noted that going online to offset their carbon was inconvenient and requested that the offset be a part of the registration fee.
International conferences have an especially high carbon footprint primarily due to people flying long distances. Other sources of emissions include hotel energy and food, and local transportation. Other than having a virtual conference one manner of reducing our carbon footprint is to purchase carbon offsets. Carbonfund.org helped us estimate our 2009 conference emissions at 900.9 metric tons based on statistics from the 25th International System Dynamics Conference held in Boston, July 2007. The estimate includes the number of attendees and their places or origin, number of hotel nights, estimated local transportation, estimated square foot of conference space and food provided by the conference. SDS has opted to average the total projected impact of our conference among the total number of projected attendees so as to not place a higher burden on those traveling from overseas. The price of offset for each participant at the 2009 conference was US$15.27.
Due to low voluntary participation, the significant interest in having the offset part of the registration fee, and the overall feedback that becoming carbon neutral was a good idea; the Environmental SIG proposes that the Society add a carbon neutral fee to the registration fee with an "opt out"option for those who do not want to participate. The current price of ~US$15.27 per participant should be enough to cover the conferences not held in the US unless those conferences start seeing the higher participation numbers that the US conferences experience or the price of carbon offsets changes significantly.
With the understanding that there would be added work by the home office to manage the offset we recommend the price of $20 to cover that additional expense with any excess to go to offsetting the carbon footprint of the home office.
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Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:39:21 -0500
Reply-To: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
From: System Dynamics Society < >
Subject: Discussion Period-Motion #100: Replace VP Members
Dear Policy Council Members and Other Interested Parties: Please note there is a new motion to replace the VP Members officer position on the Policy Council. The one week discussion period starts today until December 7. Voting will start on December 8 (a reminder will be sent). Instructions for voting by the PC Members are below the motion.
Motion #100: Replace VP Members Position
Formal Motion: Erling Moxnes, President 2009, with the concurrence of the
Nominating Committee nominates Etienne Rouwette to replace Krystyna Stave as the VP Members until the end of the term. The remaining term is January
1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.
Notes on Supporting Material: Krystyna Stave's original term was (2009-2011); Krys resigned at the July 2009 PC Meeting.
Proposed by: Moxnes, Erling. Seconded by: Eberlein, Robert
Voting open date: 2009.12.08 Voting close date: 2009.12.15
TO VOTE ON THIS MOTION:
1. Sign in at http://www.systemdynamics.org/cgi-bin/sdsweb
2. Click on the button "Policy Council Menu"
3. Find motion and click on "details"
Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussion, only current
2009 Policy Council Officers and Members can vote.
President: Erling Moxnes (2009)
President Elect: Rogelio Oliva (2009)
Past President: James M. Lyneis (2009)
Founding President: Jay W. Forrester
Secretary: J. Bradley Morrison (2009 - 2010)
Vice President At Large: Joel Rahn (2007-2009)
Vice President Chapter Activities: Tim Haslett (2008-2010)
Vice President Electronic Presence: Robert L. Eberlein (2009-2011)
Vice President Finance: David F. Andersen (2008-2010)
Vice President Meetings: Andreas Groessler (2007-2009)
Vice President Member Services: Krystyna Stave (2009-2011)
Vice President Publications: Deborah Lines Andersen (2009-2011)
System Dynamics Review Executive Editor: Brian C. Dangerfield
Policy Council (2007-2009): Renan Jia, Ozge Pala, Warren Tignor, Khaled Wahba
Policy Council (2008-2010): Enzo Bivona, Burak Guneralp, Imrana Umar, Lars Weber
Policy Council (2009-2011): Susan Howick, Birgit Kopainsky, Agata Sawicka, Aldo Zagonel
Best regards,
Erling Moxnes
President 2009
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Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 23:05:37 +0100
Reply-To: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
< >
Subject: FW: SDS Winter PC Meeting - Carbon Neutral System Dynamics Conferences
Jay and Nathan Forrester argue well for not making carbon offsetting mandatory.
Announcing voluntary offsetting is not a problem as I see it, it is just a service to those that want to offset. This is particularly a good service if recommended organizations can be trusted to do a good job. Money spent on offsets also have a minor dampening effect on economic growth - as Jay calls for. Members could also be encouraged to support the SD Society - with our method we should be able to help recommend better climate policies.
Regarding low quality as Nathan mentions, this is a topic we work with in the Strategy Committee. Good ideas are welcome. Although widespread in most disciplines, we should be careful not to set lower standards for papers that have politically correct conclusions (within disciplines or regarding environmental issues).
My best,
Erling M.
President
Erling Moxnes
Professor, System Dynamics Group
Dept. of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Bergen
http://www.ifi.uib.no/sd/
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Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:28:06 -0500
Reply-To: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
From: James Lyneis < >
Subject: Motion #100
Dear Policy Council,
On behalf of the Nominating Committee, I would like to strongly endorse the motion to appoint Etienne Rouwette to serve out the term of Krys Stave. While such an appointment does not require the normal approval of the membership, the Nominating Committee nevertheless went through its normal deliberative process to arrive at this recommendation to the President. We feel that Etienne is eminently qualified to fill this position.
Sincerely,
Jim Lyneis
Chair, Nominating Committee
James M Lyneis
PO Box 121
Weston, VT 05161
(802) 824-4219
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Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:28:32 -0500
Reply-To: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
From: System Dynamics Society < >
Subject: Results of voting: Motion 100: Replace VP Members Position
Dear Policy Council Members and Other Interested Parties:
Below please find the results of Motion #100: SUBJECT - Replace VP Members Position. Proposed by: Erling Moxnes, Seconded by: Robert Eberlein
Voting close date: 2009.12.15
FORMAL MOTION: Erling Moxnes, President 2009, with the concurrence of the Nominating Committee nominates Etienne Rouwette to replace Krystyna Stave as the VP Members until the end of the term. The remaining term is January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.
RESULTS:
Y:22, N:0, A:0, NV:3
Roberta L. Spencer office@systemdynamics.org
Executive Director phone (518) 442-3865
SYSTEM DYNAMICS SOCIETY fax (518) 442-3398
Milne 300, Rockefeller College
135 Western Avenue
University at Albany, State University of New York
Albany, NY, 12222, U.S.A. http://www.systemdynamics.org/
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Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:50:57 -0600
Reply-To: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
Sender: List for System Dynamics Society Policy Council Members< >
From: Rogelio Oliva < >
Subject: 2010 Winter Policy Council Meeting Agenda and Schedule
Dear Policy Council Members and Other Interested Parties,
The 2010 Winter Policy Council Agenda and Schedule can be found at the Policy Council Menu.
Reports for the Winter Meeting are due during the two-week window from Monday, December 21 to Monday, January 4; all reports are due by January 4. Instructions for posting reports, viewing reports and voting are given below. I look forward to a productive meeting. At the very bottom of the message, please see the list of people who have replied ‘YES’regarding attendance at the January 15 face-to-face meeting at MIT. If your name is not listed, and especially if you do plan to attend, please RSVP directly to the Society office so that we may have an accurate headcount.
Lodging information for the Kendall Hotel, Cambridge, MA is also available on the Policy Council Menu.
Best regards and happy holidays,
Rogelio Oliva,
PC MEETING PROTOCOL -- Submitting Reports, Electronic Discussion, and Voting
A typical System Dynamics Society Policy Council Meeting includes both asynchronous electronic communication and a face-to-face meeting. The following covers the mechanics of the electronic portion with some approximate guidelines as to when steps should be completed.
**Report Posting and Viewing**
A few weeks before the meeting date all officers and active committees should submit a report. Please refer to the Agenda and Schedule. For the winter meeting an update is appropriate unless a committee has completed its work or substantive discussion of an issue is required during the meeting.
To submit a report please use the web submission system at: http://www.systemdynamics.org/cgi-bin/sdsweb
Log on using your email address and password. This is the same system used to submit conference papers and complete instructions for using it are at: http://www.systemdynamics.org/conferences/instruct/intro.html If you do not know your password you can reset it by clicking on ‘Forgot or have not set your password?. After you are logged on you should see a section referring to the upcoming PC meeting:
‘The 2010 Winter Policy Council Meeting’
If you do not see this section heading such as this, please contact the Society office. The Policy Council Menu appears only for officers, PC members and those who have been added as guests (guests cannot vote but can submit reports and take part in discussion).
Under the meeting name you will see two buttons; a button for the ‘Policy Council Menu’ and a button to ‘Submit a Report (New Submission).’ To see what reports have been submitted and to make and vote on motions electronically enter the ‘Policy Council Menu.’ For more details on electronic voting see below.
Use the ‘Submit a Report’ button to submit a new report. Every report =20 has both an abstract and a full report. The abstract will allow people to quickly learn the content of all reports. When you enter a report you will first be asked to either type in (or paste from a word processor) a short (less than 200 word) abstract.
After you have entered this and clicked on "Submit" you will receive a page for uploading the full report, which must be a PDF file. If you have submitted a report previously there will be a button listing that report and allowing you to edit the title and abstract and re-upload an edited/updated report if necessary. Please submit all reports as Adobe Acrobat files - this simplifies the process of creating a record of reports as part of the meeting minutes. If you do not have the ability to create Adobe Acrobat files see the submission system instructions noted above or contact the Society Office.
**Electronic Voting**
When a meeting is open the submission system allows electronic voting.
To make a motion you can click on the ‘Make a New Motion’ button on the Policy Council Menu Page. This should be done only after you have contacted the President to let him or her know your intent -- the equivalent of being recognized in a meeting.
During the Winter PC meeting, all motions will be discussed and voted electronically; any motions drafted during the face-to-face meeting will be discussed further and voted on in the subsequent electronic meeting. In this case the President or Executive Director will add the motion to the system recording the name of the persons making and seconding the motion in notes.
To vote on a motion that is open for voting, simply click on the motion and then the checkbox for your vote. You can change your vote using the same process as long as the motion remains open. Your vote is visible to everyone; there is no secret ballot voting supported.
**Electronic Discussion**
Based on experience with past meetings, electronic discussion will be conducted using the Policy Council email discussion listserv. To send a message to this list use the email address < >. After you have sent this you will be asked to confirm your post. Try to use a subject that connects the message clearly to any reports or motions it may be related to. If you want to reply directly to an individual who sent a message to the list, you will need to enter the email address directly -- using ‘Reply’ will reply to everyone on the list.
People who have replied YES to the RSVP for the January 15 meeting:
YES:
David Andersen, Deborah Andersen, Robert Eberlein, Jay Forrester, David Lane, Brad Morrison, Erling Moxnes, Rogelio Oliva, Roberta Spencer, Imrana Umar, Aldo Zagonel
Rogelio Oliva
Associate Professor
Mays Business School | Wehner 301C - 4217
Texas A&M University | College Station, TX 77843-4217
Ph 979-862-3744 | Fx 979-845-5653 |
http://iops.tamu.edu/faculty/roliva/