TY  - GEN
AU  - Meadows, Donella H.
AU  - Wright, Diana (ed.)
TI  - Thinking in systems : a primer 
SN  - 9781603580557
U1  - 003 
PY  - 0000///Vermont,
CY  - 2008.
PB  - Chelsea Green Publishing
KW  - system analysis
KW  - simulation methods
KW  - decision making
KW  - critical thinking
KW  - sustainable development
KW  - social sciences
KW  - economic development
KW  - environmental aspects
KW  - population
KW  - environmental education
KW  - document type
N1  - Recommended by:  Saurabh Pandya; Contents: 

Introduction: The Systems Lens
Part 1: System Structures and Behavior
Chapter 1. The Basics	
Chapter 2. A Brief Visit to the Systems Zoo			
Part 2: Systems and Us
Chapter 3. Why Systems Work So Well	
Chapter 4. Why Systems Surprise Us
Chapter 5. System Traps . . . and Opportunities	
Part 4: Creating Change; in Systems and in Philosophy
Chapter 6. Leverage Points; Places to Intervene in a System	
Chapter 7. Living in a World of Systems	
Appendix	
	System Definitions: A Glossary	
	Summary of Systems Principles 	
	Springing the System Traps	
	Places to Intervene in a System	
	Guidelines for Living in a World of Systems	
	Model Equations

N2  - Summary:   Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life. Some of the biggest problems facing the world--war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation--are essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking. While readers will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds readers to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner. In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps readers avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions
ER  -