SCTPLS Conference -- Workshops 1-4

[6155GUASTELL@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

WORKSHOPS AT THE FIFTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE
SOCIETY FOR CHAOS THEORY IN PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LIFE SCIENCES,
August 8-12, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

[General announcement & call: FTP to <ftp.tmn.com>
Path = Chaos-Complexity

WORKSHOPS: Tuesday, Aug 8, 1995; 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM:

1. DYNAMICAL CONCEPTS IN PSYCHOLOGY: FRED ABRAHAM, Ph.D., author of
An Introduction to Dynamical Systems Theory for Psychology. Fred is
one of the founders and past-president of the Society for Chaos
Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences.
This will be a fairly introductory workshop focussing on basic
concepts of dynamics and their application to psychological theory
and research. It is felt that these basic concepts are central not
only to using dynamics, but to moving on to other related topics in
comlexity analysis, some of which will be mentioned albeit rather
briefly. Hands-on computer experience will be utilized to explore
simple properties of dynamics, attractor types, separatrices and
basins, dimension, spectra, etc., for known low-dimensional
atractors such as the prey-predator, van der Pol, logistic, Henon,
Rossler, Lorenz, etc; and for empirical data sets. The emphasis
will be on understanding the basic principles of attractors,
bifurcations, and stability. Fluency in math is not required--it is
intended as an introduction.

2. AWAKENING 101: SALLY J. GOERNER, Ph.D. is on the scientific
advisory board of The European Academy of Evolution Research. With
advanced degrees in both computer science and psychology,
her publications include the 1994 book, Chaos and the Evolving
Ecological Universe. Sally is past-president of the Society for
Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences.
Chaos and Complexity are best understood as new insights into the
way interdependence produces pattern, structure,and organization.
If one understands them this way, it become obvious that they are
but a small part of a vast cultural shift emerging in human
endeavors from education to government,in academic fields from
biology to economics and which connects with a vast array of
long-standing spiritual and philosophic traditions. The implication
is that western civilization is undergoing a comprehensive
transformation exactly like one that happened 300 years ago. That
change produced the Enlightenment, materialist mechanistic science,
and the clockwork sense of the universe.  The current change is
producing science centered on interdependence, a detailed
understanding of the world as an intricate interdependent
web and an Awakening from what seems to have been a long dogmatic
mechanistic slumber.  This course provides a concrete, common sense
tour of the science, sociology, economics and spirituality of the
post-clockwork universe. We will discuss why clockwork thinking
will end and how Chaos/Complexity clarifes the change.

3. CHAOS AND CREATIVITY: STEPHEN GUASTELLO, Ph.D., MARQUETTE
UNIVERSITY, author of the forthcoming Chaos, Catastrophes, and
Human Affairs (Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers). Steve is the
president-elect of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and
the Life Sciences.
This workshop explores the role of nonlinear dynamics and self-
organization in the creative process, including scientific,
artistic, business, and other domains.  Program features
exercises for enhancing creativity in individuals, groups,
and organizations which capitalize on chaotic or dynamic
processes. Exercises are organized in a graduated series
from elementary skills to complex problem solving. Participants
are encouraged to bring problems that they would like to
work on, such as chaos modeling for a research project,
methods for enhancing creativity in a group with which they
work reguarly, or some other problem requiring creative
input. Updates on the latest research developments are
also included.

WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 12, 9AM-4:30PM:

4. INTRODUCTION TO COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE: WILLIAM SULIS, MD,
Ph.D., McMaster University, fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry and
doctorate in mathematics.
The study of collective intelligence has been a major facet of
entomological research for many years and has been embraced by the
artificial life community as a promising alternative to both
conventional and connectionist approaches to the understanding and
generation of intelligent behaviour. This workshop provides an
introductory survey of the empirical evidence upon which the
concept is founded and some of the experimental and theoretical
approaches being currently undertaken in order to study it.
Part 1: Empirical Background
Collective organisms- slime molds, collective intelligences- social
insects: ants, wasps, bees. Stigmergy, decentralized control.
Collective behaviour- swarms, mobs, crowds, societies, economies
Part 2: Experimental and Theoretical Approaches
Collective robotics, behaviour-based robotics, cellular automata,
statistical mechanical theories of swarms, the pattern landscape


Registration:

Cost for each workshop: $110.00, additional $25 for computer use
for workshop #1. (full-time students: $75)

Send registration to Jeffrey Goldstein, 29 Hayes Road,
Amity Harbor, NY 11701 USA;
email: goldstein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  phone: (516) 877-4637
fax: (516) 877-4607. Make checks payable to Society for Chaos
Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences)

Workshop:

Name:

Address:

University Affiliation (if any):



Jeffrey Goldstein, Ph.D., Adelphi University, Garden City, NY 11530
phone: (516) 877-4637; fax: (516) 877-4607; email: goldstein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx