REPLY Separate Professional Conference (SD6304)

[System Dynamics Mailing List]

Posted by  <richard.dudley at attglobal.net>

I agree with Keith's comment: 

"I believe the best 'professional conference' is one where there is a good
mix of academia (with a strong focus on pushing the theoretical boundaries,
whilst protecting the foundations), business AND Government (with a focus on
application from both user and practitioner perspective, whilst protecting
"best practice")"

Moreover I am a bit disturbed by the use of "professional" to exclude
academics.  Surely academics are also professionals. Perhaps another term is
more appropriate  :-) 

The boundaries between academics, business people, government agency
workers, and those working in international agencies or organizations, are
not that clear.  These are fuzzy boundaries.  Many academics, both system
dynamicists,  and of those in other fields, do real hands on practical
research... as in my own field of natural resource management -- fisheries.
Perhaps it is because my field is closely linked with official agencies,
rather than business per se, that I see the issue this way.  But I have
always felt that academics, at least in applied sciences, and the real world
are pretty closely linked.   I believe this is also true of the health
sciences where the distinction between academics and practitioners is not
clear at all -- they are all working to solve real-world problems in a
practical way.  

One of the benefits I get from the conference is learning what people in
other areas are doing with system dynamics:  How is SD being applied, how it
is being useful, how it can be improved.

____________________________
 
       Richard G. Dudley
Posted by  <richard.dudley at attglobal.net>
posting date  Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:07:32 +0700