Keynote Speakers for Conference

Professor Matjaž Mulej

Vice-president (Ex-president) of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences.
University of Maribor, Slovenia. 

Matjaz Mulej was born in 1941 in Slovenia, he is a Ph.D. in economic sciences (specialised in systems theory) and in management science (in the field of innovation management), professor emeritus of systems and innovation theories. He works at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Maribor and the author of the dialectical system theory and the model of innovative business theory (for economy in transition). He has published more than 60 books and publications in more than 40 countries and worked as a visiting professor and researcher in 6 different countries for 15 semesters, including Cornell University, USA. He is a member of three international academies of sciences and arts (Salzburg, Paris, and Vienna) and the president of the International Academy of Systems and Cybernetic Sciences. Until April 2010, he was the president of IFSR (with 37 member associations and members from all over the world). He appears under number 8082 in the Researcher Register with more than 1600 publications being cited around 120 times and publishing more than 50 articles with co-authors in foreign first-class magazines. He was a chancellor and a vice-chancellor of the University of Maribor from 1997 to 2001. He worked as an innovation consultant almost 500 times in Slovenia as well as the USA, Russia, Angola, Indonesia, and Poland. In the International Encyclopaedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2nd edition (Charles François, 2004. München: Saur), he and his dialectical system theory is named nine times and his name is frequently searched online as well. Lately, he has been encouraging the development of social responsibility as a possible solution to human crisis, as he regards it as an informal way to the sufficient and necessary integrity, in other words to innovate ethics with system behaviour. This is one of the reasons why he works as the head of the Expert Committee of the Institute for Social Responsibility Development in Maribor.

SOCIAL REPONSIBILITY BY OPEN INNOVATION:

Abstract: Social responsibility (SR) provides a chance for innovative change by its basis:
      -   Interdependence and holism as SR’s essence in the ISO 26000 (ISO, 2010) on SR (supported by its 7 principles and 7 steps of making SR normal) and
      -   European Union’s (2011) support SR it by EU’s definition that SR means one’s responsibility for one’s impact on society.
Innovation makes a crucial impact on society. It results from idea-suggestion-invention-potential innovation-innovation-diffusion process (IIDP). In IIDP, specialists of several professions are necessary. Narrow specialization is necessary, but equally so is one more specialists’ capacity: cooperation helps humans prevent oversights and resulting failures, because it enables more holistic thinking/behavior. The narrow specialization is so strong that many hardly see that (requisitely) holistic thinking/behavior – enabled by interdisciplinary creative cooperation, backed by (ethics of) interdependence – makes specialization of any profession and organization much more beneficial than any operation inside itself alone. Owners, managers and staff can benefit from SR, but need knowledge and values to implement SR. Government and other influential entities should support them with the model suggested here.

Professor Hans van Vliet

Department of Information Management and Software Engineering (IMSE)
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Editor in Chief of the Journal of Systems and Software (Impact factor 1.135 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports)  

Hans van Vliet is Professor in Software Engineering at the VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, since 1986. He got his PhD from the University of Amsterdam. His research interests include software architecture, knowledge management in software development, global software development, and empirical software engineering. Before joining the VU University, he worked as a researcher at the Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI, Amsterdam). He spent a year as a visiting researcher at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California. He is the author of “Software Engineering: Principles and Practice", published by Wiley (3rd Edition, 2008). He is a member of IFIP Working Group 2.10 on software architecture, and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Systems and Software.

Social Structures in Software Engineering:

Abstract: Software is designed and written by groups of people, often distributed across sites and continents. These groups form social communities, with different ties, governance structures, membership structures, and so on. In this talk I explore ways to map the actual structure of a software development project onto well-known Organizational Social Structures in order to assess quality aspects of a software development organization, and software developed, in terms of this mapping.

Professor Ronald R. Yager

Director of the Machine Intelligence Institute
Iona College (New York), USA.
Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Intelligent Systems (Impact factor 1.416 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports)  

Ronald R. Yager is Director of the Machine Intelligence Institute and Professor of Information Systems at Iona College. He is editor and chief of the International Journal of Intelligent Systems. He has published over 500 papers and edited over 30 books in areas related to fuzzy sets, human behavioral modeling, decision-making under uncertainty and the fusion of information. He is among the world's most highly cited researchers with over 38000 citations in Google Scholar. He was the recipient of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Pioneer award in Fuzzy Systems. He received the special honorary medal of the 50-th Anniversary of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He received the Lifetime Outstanding Achievement Award from International the Fuzzy Systems Association. He recently received honorary doctorate degrees, honoris causa, from the State University of Information Technologies, Sofia Bulgaria and the Azerbaijan Technical University. Dr. Yager is a fellow of the IEEE, the New York Academy of Sciences and the Fuzzy Systems Association. He has served at the National Science Foundation as program director in the Information Sciences program. He was a NASA/Stanford visiting fellow and a research associate at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been a lecturer at NATO Advanced Study Institutes. He is a visiting distinguished scientist at King Saud University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. He received his undergraduate degree from the City College of New York and his Ph. D. from the Polytechnic Institute New York University.

Computational Intelligence for Information Fusion and Decision Making:

Abstract: Intelligent decision-making requires the use of all available information. However the information used for decision-making generally comes from multiple sources and is expressed in various modalities. We are interested in the problem of multi-source information fusion in the case when the information provided has some uncertainty. In order to address this problem we need to provide methods for the representation of different types of uncertain information. Here we shall discuss some computational intelligence based approaches for attaining this capability. One approach we consider is the use of a set measure for the representation of uncertain information. . We look at some non-standard representations of imprecise information particularly Pythagorean fuzzy sets. We shall also look at some aggregation approaches for the fusion of this information.

Professor Nigel GILBERT

Sociologist and Director of the Centre for Research in Social Simulation
University of Surrey, UK
Editor in Chief of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS) (Impact factor 1.733 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports)  

Nigel Gilbert is a sociologist with a special interest in computational social science. He was one of the first social scientists to use agent-based models, in the early 1990s, and has since published widely on the methodology underlying computer modelling, on basic issues in social science that can be addressed effectively using such models, and on the value of simulation for applied problems such as understanding commercial innovation and managing environmental resources such as energy and water.
Professor Gilbert has received funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, the European Commission’s Framework programme, the Alvey Directorate, Government Departments, and from business and industry, totalling over £13 million. He is currently Principal Investigator of one of EPSRC’s four ‘Complexity Science for the Real World’ projects, on the Evolution and Resilience of Industrial Ecosystems, which brings together mathematicians, computer scientists, environmental scientists and social scientists to develop tools for enhancing the resilience of industrial developments. Professor Gilbert is also interested in issues of privacy and surveillance, and authored a report on the subject for the Royal Academy of Engineering, and other publications on the topic.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Academy of Social Sciences. Previously, he was a Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey.

Predictions, forecasts and scenarios: what can models of complex socio-economic systems tell us?

Abstract: Almost all social systems are complex, in the sense that they are composed of many interacting units, and have emergent behaviour and sensitivity to initial conditions. This makes it both theoretically and practically problematic to expect models of social systems to be useful for making predictions about their future behaviour, yet such predications are what many policy-oriented models are expected to provide.
In this talk, I shall suggest why social systems need to be treated as complex, consider the implications for making predictions, and review current approaches for deriving policy conclusions from models, focussing mainly on agent-based modelling. I shall propose that scenario analysis is the way to go and show what we can learn from scenarios generated from agent-based simulations.

Professor Alain ABRAN

Department of software engineering and information technology
Professor - Ecole de technologie superieure - University of Québec, Canada.
 

Dr. Abran holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1994) from École Polytechnique de Montréal (Canada) and master degrees in Management Sciences (1974) and Electrical Engineering (1975) from University of Ottawa (Canada). He is a professor at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) – Université du Québec (Montréal, Canada). He has over 20 years of experience in teaching in a university environment as well as more than 20 years of industry experience in information systems development and software engineering. His research interests include software productivity and estimation models, software engineering foundations, software quality, software functional size measurement, software risk management and software maintenance management. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed publications and he is the author of the book ‘Software Metrics and Software Metrology’ and a co--author of the book ‘Software Maintenance Management’ (Wiley Interscience Ed.. & IEEE-CS Press). Dr. Abran is co-editor of the Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge – SWEBOK (see ISO 19759 and www.swebok.org) and he is the chairman of the Common Software Measurement International Consortium (COSMIC) – www.cosmicon.com
Author of:
Software Metrics and Software Metrology
COSMIC Function Points: Theory and Advanced Practices

Software Estimation & Measurement: From Malpractices to Engineering:

Abstract: In the Dark Ages the ‘Lords of the country’ were expecting that their ‘alchemists’ - the ‘gurus’ of their era - would come up with mysterious formula that would transform ‘dust’ into ‘pots of gold!
A lot of current software estimation models, practices and metrics, including in Agile and COCOMO-like models, share characteristics observed in the Dark Ages. Furthermore, when compared to current practices from engineering and sciences, quite a few could be associated to professional malpractices in this 21st century!
This talk will present criteria to assess the quality of estimation models and software measures, and will illustrate this with many instances where ‘feel good’ is preferred to ‘engineering strengths’.

Professor Pierre BRICAGE

Secretary General of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences.
University of Pau & Pays de l'Adour,France 

Born in 1947 in Paris, France, Europe, Pierre Bricage, graduated in biochemistry, embryology and fundamental and quantitative applied genetics from the University of Paris 6 - in ARWU, the first French University, ranking 37, but the top 15 in Natural Sciences and 5 in Mathematics-. Alumnus of the ENS -only in the top 100 in Natural Sciences- (Saint Cloud, Lyon), France, he passed the aggregation of biology. He learned American Civilization in CalTech (ranking 5), Pasadena California, with the British European Centre. He edited or published more than 250 pedagogic or scientific works in more than 20 countries ( http://web.univpau. fr/~bricage/ ). During 8 years at the University of Dakar (Sénégal, Africa), the biological rhythms (experimental study and modelling) of biochemical, ecological, physiological & genetical markers of plant enzymes & pigments were his teaching & research first interests in Biology and Ecology (sustainable management of natural resources and environmental education). During 40 years, he led a career as academic full-time researcher and teacher in biochemistry, enzymology, genetics, microbiology, animal and plant physiology, and systems analysis. As head of the Biology department at the University of Pau, France, he co-founded a regional centre for Agricultural Research. He has taught Systems Theories & Micro-Informatics (Data Bases modelling, programming, simulating) applied to Chemistry, Quality Control, Health and Social Sciences (Societal Engineering and Man's Societal Environmental Responsibility). Since 2000, he is pointing back to Fundamentals in Biology & Systemics Practical Applications ( http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00130218/fr ) with all OnLine “Creative Commons” works. He has been developing new Methods & Key Words in biosystemics (endophysiotope and ecoexotope, “the gauge invariance of life“, phylotagmotaphology http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00423730/fr ), through the new predictive Paradigm of ARMSADA “Associations for the Reciprocal and Mutual Sharing of Advantages and DisAdvantages” http://www.armsada.eu with predictive applications in curative vaccines (cancer, AIDS) technology. Now retired, he is Vice-President of the French Association for Systemics and Cybernetics AFSCET ( http://www.afscet.asso.fr ), Deputy Secretary General of the European Union for Systemics UES-EUS ( http://ues-eus.eu/ ), Member of the Directorate of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics WOSC ( http://www.wosc.co/ ) and Secretary General of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences IASCYS ( http://www.iascys.org ).

Survival Management by Living Systems.
A General System Theory of the Space-Time Modularity and Evolution of Living Systems:

Abstract: To survive that is 'to eat and not to be eaten'. Any alive system, within its ecoexotope of survival, is integrated into a food chain: it eats and is eaten! To survive and live on, whatever its spatial and temporal organisation, it owns 7 invariant capacities (gauge invariance) . The system is built by embedments and juxtapositions of preexisting ones in a new whole (endophysiotope). Whatever the level of organisation, the ecoexotope has always a limited capacity of hosting. To survive and live on, the system needs a capacity to be hosted but it has 'to be lucky' for 'to be at the right place at the right time'. Soon or late it is impossible not to be eaten. Man is not an exception. The modularity of alive systems allows both a partial allocation and a global recycling of matter and energy. The pleiotropy of the structures and functions, allowing 'to make of a stone several knocks', is the mechanism of exaptation. Within any ecoexotope, the agoantagonistic balance ends soon or late with the disappearance of predators, resulting in a reduction of biodiversity. The merging into 'Associations for the Reciprocal and Mutual Sharing of Advantages and DisAdvantages' allows the emergence of a new biodiversity (Fig. 1). These fruitful paradigm of ARMSADA is independent from the dimensional scaling: the local and global quantitative laws of space-time structuring and functioning are the same. Depending on how they become mutually integrated into their global whole, the local actors are more and less dependent from the new global level of organisation. Reversely (systemic constructal law), the global whole is reciprocally integrating the local parceners ? The evolution of living systems is often seen as a “cooperative evolution”. Resulting from altruist behaviours it could be modelled and simulated using games like the prisoners' dilemma game. Is the same true for Man's artefacts like banking systems? In what manner is the prisoners' dilemma game justifying extrusion ? What can we learn from Reinforcement Learning Dynamics in Social Dilemmas ? In reality, humans display a systemic bias towards cooperative behaviour, much more so than predicted by models of "rational" self-interested action. Models based on different kinds of payoffs and driving forces, where people forecast how the game would be played if they formed coalitions to maximise their forecasts, are shown to make better predictions that resemble reality. How are the laws of spatial-temporal stru cturing and functioning of banking systems associated with the basic law of survival of living systems ? How do local actors become mutually integrated into their global whole? And reversely, why and how is the global whole reciprocally integrating the local parceners? Is victory a strategic success? What are the roots for interdependence, conflicts and strategic order challenges? How is emerging a new power balance? Can banking systems survive as parasitic systems ? Is a “money chain“ a way of violence escalade, like a “food chain“ is? Is not the ARMSADA paradigm the best way to improve the survival of our societies?
Keywords: ago-antagonism, ARMSADA “Associations for the Reciprocal and Mutual Sharing of Advantages and Dis- Advantages“ (http://armsada.eu), commensalism, competition, ecoexotope, endophysiotope, exaptation, food chain, fractals, gauge invariance, iteration, money chain, Nash equilibrium, parasitism, Pareto equilibrium, percolation, phylotagmotaphologie, power laws, prisoners' dilemma game, systemic constructal law