Rich picture version of Tanner's Clinical Judgment Model, with the addition of clinical reasoning cycle concepts from T Levett-Jones et al Nurse Education Today 30 (2010) 515-520

A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for implementing a systems approach, including virtual intervention experiments using computer simulation models. See also Complex Decision Technologies IM

Challenges in sustainability are multilevel.
This diagram attempts to summarize levels of self reinforcing destructive dynamics, authors that deal with them, and point of leverage for change.

The base of the crisis is a mechanistic rather than ecological worldview. This mechanistic worldview is based on outdated science that assumed the universe to be a large machine. In a machine there is an inside and an outside. The health of the inside is important for the machine, the outside not. In an ecological view everything is interconnected, there is no clear separation in the future of self and other. All parts influence the health of other parts. To retain health sensitivity and democracy are inherent. The sense of separation from other that keeps the mechanistic worldview dominant is duality. Being cut off from spiritual traditions due to a mechanistic view of science people need access to inter-spirituality to reconnect with the human traditions and tools around connectedness, inner discovery, and compassion. Many books on modern physics and biology deal with the system view implications. "The coming interspiritual age" deals with the need to connect spiritual traditions and science.

At the bottom for the dynamic is an individual a sense of disconnectedness leads to a dependency on spending and having rather than connecting. The connecting has become too painful and dealing with it unpopular in our culture. Joanna Macy deals with this in Active Hope. 

This affluenza and disconnection is worsened by a market that floods one with advertisements aimed at creating needs and a sense of dissatisfaction with that one has.

National economies are structured around maximising GDP which means maximising consumption and financial capital movement. This is at the cost of local economies. These same local economies are needed for balanced happiness as well as for sustainability.

Generally institutions focus on maximising consumption rather than sustaining life support systems. David Korten covers this well.

Power and wealth is confused in this worldview. In striving for wealth only power is striven for in the form of money and monopoly.

Those at the head of large banks and corporations tend to be there because they exemplify this approach. They have few scruples about enforcing this approach onto everyone through wars and disaster capitalism. Naomi Klein and David Estulin documented this.

Power has become so centralized that we need this understanding to be widespread and include many of those in power. Progress of all of these levels are needed to show them and all that another way is possible.

This model was started at the STIA+ Conference in Seattle on April 18th by Rebecca Niles of Leverage Networks for discussion at her Open Space session. The intent is to continue that open space here in a virtual context.

To this point the Situation, Behavior, Model, Stakeholder and Boundary aspects of this situation have been investigated. It is now appropriate to consider the assumptions that have been made to this point and ensure we are on a solid foundation before proceeding to the Leverage and Strategy aspects are considered.

This is a summary version of the theWay model which presents the essence of the overall model though not all the detailed pieces. It was created as a way to get a quick sense of all the pieces at once.

What we can learn from a child?  

Everything! 

I certainly learned everything after one day spent judging high school students who researched the industrial impacts on planet and people in under-developed parts of the world.  

Students are supported by an industry advisory board who funds and staffs the two regional events. I was one of the IAB members representing Parents at Large.

The program has a parent, teacher and works with students from 5th grade to high school graduation ensuring and advocating students are attending the courses required for a four year university in STEM subjects.  Underperforming schools and districts randomly assign courses without regard for A-G requirements.  Parents have no way to dispute nor are they aware of the systemic challenges faced by districts serving low income students. Even if students get into the right courses, they are often not scheduled to take the SAT test (another university entrance requirement).  Even advanced course students are not guaranteed they will be registered.  

MESA Program statistics indicate many participants had the criteria to go into a 4 year university.  Only a small percentage actually enrolled.  One point of failure in these dismal outcomes pertains to the high school administration practice which only submits a small group for SAT Testing.  Eliminating the remainder of eager students, with this one decision destroying the hopes and dreams of low income students.  "You weren't submitted for the SAT, because you need to attend Community College" statement made to several advanced placement students. These students worked for years as participants in the MESA Program, completing annual robotics projects from grade 5 into their senior year of high school.                                                                                                            Our future leaders could benefit from a different approach to higher education.  Why is different so important?  The point of failure mentioned above, is a systemic failure caused by failures in equality.  The higher crime and homelessness are two direct outcomes or opportunities we can reverse if we allow students in our hardest to reach communities to earn a Six Sigma belt path in experience based learning.  Replicate the MESA Schools projects in all hard to reach populations.  Partnering Universities, public and private sector organizations financing the development of shared service centers.   

Our youth have great potential and passion for understanding problems effecting their environments whether social, economic or cultural.  

The only thing missing in today's contestants "having the access to accurate information which they can decipher into knowledge and the means to experience corrective action which should result in value based wisdom gained from experience."

Ideally, the wisdom shared in a free online visualization tool would be a means to leverage work done by academics and system thinkers.  Progressive educators are using this tool to debate various topics of importance all over the world.  

See debategraph

Climate change

http://debategraph.org/Stream.aspx?nid=610&vt=spacetree&dc=focus

Planet under pressure

http://debategraph.org/planet

London agenda on cyberspace

http://debategraph.org/Stream.aspxnid=121532&vt=spacetree&dc=focus

Prosperity without growth

http://debategraph.org/Stream.aspx?nid=32883&vt=spacetree&dc=focu

Thank you to all the students who allowed me to judge their wonderful speeches.  It was a crash course in work I shared with LinkedIn group "System Thinking World" using Insight Maker.