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The purpose of this memorandum is to share the awarding of one of the most prestigious recognitions in systems thinking and cybernetics: The World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics (WOSC) Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold medal was awarded in June 2019 to Professor Emeritus, PhD, PhD, Matjaž Mulej for his long-life contributions.

The Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold medal was awarded to Professor Emeritus, PhD, PhD, Matjaž Mulej based on the combination of extensive literature analysis and the Delphi approach.

Based on Professor Emeritus, PhD, PhD, Matjaž Mule’s exceptional accomplishments in the field of systems thinking and cybernetics, especially the Dialectical Systems Theory and the notion of requisite holism, combined with his visionary projects as, for instance, the development and application of social responsibility concepts, he was nominated and awarded this esteemed medal.

The Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold medal draws the focus to important work of exceptional individuals and at the same time drives researchers to follow his example in research and overall behaviour.

The Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold medal has been awarded to 12 people during the past 50 years of WOSC’s existence. Only researchers that have provided significant imprint in systems thinking and cybernetics with their research and organisational activities in society, organisations and communities can be nominated for this prize.

Explores critically the economic thought of Norbert Wiener with special reference to automatization, of which he was the father and philosopher. Considers the concept and theory in economic science and Wiener’s economics as an axiological science. Examines long‐time and short‐time (contest‐free) economic analysis as discussed by Wiener. Further considerations include the analysis of contest and Wiener’s militarology. Automatization is given special reference and Wiener’s analysis is presented and the humane resolution of the problem discussed. Wienierian ideas are further examined and related to the human condition in a final section: The mandate of heaven.

The paper studies the participation of Gregory Bateson at the Macy Conferences on Cybernetics, that would prove to be a real turning point in his intellectual itinerary.

It bases itself on more or less known documents and on the newer studies on early cybernetics, focussing in particular on the earliest Macy meetings.

Being still an anthropologist, Bateson insisted on the importance and lack of theory in social sciences. Arriving at the first Macy meeting, he hoped that the new researches conducted by Norbert Wiener with others would have helped him to clarify the concept of circular causality that he believed to be a very central theoretical notion in social sciences. Indeed, Wiener was strongly sceptical about the inclusion of social sciences in the new cybernetic programs. Nevertheless, Bateson could learn about negative and positive feedback, about how negative feedback was able to explain finality in a non‐metaphysical way, and discovered the specificity of phenomena concerning information. In addition, he became acquainted with Russell's theory of logical types, which resonated in his mind with his ideas about deutero‐learning. Very quickly, his reasoning about circular processes in society began to include also problems of communication and self‐referentiality.

It wants to explain one of the most important moments in Bateson's scientific evolution, emphasizing theoretical problems in social sciences demanding still now a stable clarification.

Although Norbert Wiener is justifiably granted the epithet “father of cybernetics”, a number of other engineers from a control or telecommunications background also turned to areas that can broadly be categorised as cybernetic during and immediately after WW2. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of some of these lesser‐known technologist contributors to the emerging ideas of cybernetics.

The paper is based on primary and secondary literature, as well as two interviews from the early 1990s.

In Germany, Hermann Schmidt, Chair of the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (Society of German Engineers) committee on control engineering (established in 1939) gave a talk on control engineering and its relationship with economics, social sciences and cultural aspects as early as October 1940. Winfried Oppelt, another member of the committee, also researched non‐technological applications of control ideas in his subsequent career (economics, biology), as did the communications engineer Karl Küpfmüller (pharmacokinetics, models of the human nervous system). In the UK, Arnold Tustin developed a mathematical model of a human gun operator during the war, and then applied control ideas to economic systems from the mid‐1940s.

The material presented here is not well‐known even within the control and communications engineering sectors, and is largely absent from histories of cybernetics – at least those in the English language.

Gives reports and surveys of selected current research and developments in systems and cybernetics. They include: Scientific research and warfare; Cybernetics and psychology; Combating computer rage; Communication systems; Cybernetics and automation; Management cybernetics – human resources development; Innovative systems.

Cybernetics is considered in its fundamental aspect of a unique master science embracing the concepts of the causation and precipitation of consequences, and hence entraining values and history. In this context a deeper approach to feedback and socio‐political realities becomes possible and is developed, in which practical problems are squarely addressed.

A discussion and review of the important biography by Pesi R. Mansani of Norbert Wiener, with comment on the pre‐cybernetic era, Wiener's origins, his post‐doctoral studies, together with his achievements in mathematics, his connection with the USSR, his war‐time activities and, finally, his involvement with cybernetics.

Aims to analyse the influence of Norbert Wiener’s ideas on the social sciences and on social systems, including society as a whole. Describes Wiener’s own attitudes regarding the applicability of cybernetics to social systems and his vision on the development of modern society. Highlights sociologists and political scientists who were inspired by his ideas and deals with researchers who tried to apply his ideas to social systems. Concludes by evaluating to what extent specific ideas of Wiener have impacted on the social sciences.

The concept of information is central to several fields of research and professional practice. So many definitions have been put forward that complete inventory is unachievable while authors have failed to reach a consensus. In the face of the present impasse, innovative proposals could rouse information theorists to action, but literature surveys tend to emphasize the common traits of definitions. Reviewers are inclined to iron out originality in information models; thus the purpose of this paper is to discover the creativity of authors attempting to define the concept of information and to stimulate the progress of studies in this field.

Because the present inquiry could be influenced and distorted by personal criteria and opinions, the authors have adopted precise criteria and guidelines. It could be said the present approach approximates a statistical methodology.

The findings of this paper include (1) The authors found 32 original definitions of information which sometimes current surveys have overlooked. (2) The authors found a relation between information theories and advances in information technology. (3) Overall, the authors found that researchers take account of a wide variety of perspectives yet overlook the notion of information as used by computing practitioners such as electronic engineers and software developers.

The authors comment on some limitations of the procedure that was followed. Results 1 and 3 open up new possibilities for theoretical research in the information domain.

This is an attempt to conduct a bibliographical inquiry driven by objective and scientific criteria; its value lies in the fact that final report has not been influenced by personal choice or arbitrary viewpoints.