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Presents the scientific methodology from the enlarged cybernetical perspective that recognizes the anisotropy of time, the probabilistic character of natural laws, and the entry that the incomplete determinism in Nature opens to the occurrence of innovation, growth, organization, teleology communication, control, contest and freedom. The new tier to the methodological edifice that cybernetics provides stands on the earlier tiers, which go back to the Ionians (c. 500 BC). However, the new insights reveal flaws in the earlier tiers, and their removal strengthens the entire edifice. The new concepts of teleological activity and contest allow the clear demarcation of the military sciences as those whose subject matter is teleological activity involving contest. The paramount question “what ought to be done”, outside the empirical realm, is embraced by the scientific methodology. It also embraces the cognitive sciences that ask how the human mind is able to discover, and how the sequence of discoveries might converge to a true description of reality.

This paper aims to review current developments that have been initiated by the advent of the new technologies.

A general review and survey of selected research and development topics.

Illustrates the multi‐ and trans‐disciplinary nature of cybernetics, systems and management sciences.

The choice of reviews provides an awareness of the current trends in these areas of endeavour.

The reviews are selected from a global database and give a studied assessment of present‐day research and development initiatives.

This paper aims to review current research with particular reference to new research and development initiatives and examines some of the changes since 1971.

A general review and survey of selected research and development topics is given and some new challenges and applications of future technologies are considered with particular reference to their impact and potential.

The paper illustrates the multi‐ and trans‐disciplinary nature of studies in cybernetics, systems and management sciences, with a view to further research and development activity. It comments on some of the changes that have occurred in the late twentieth and early twenty‐first century.

The choice of review provides an awareness of current trends in these areas of endeavour.

The reviews are selected from a global database and give a studied assessment of current research and development initiatives. With notes on the contribution of Kybernetes to communicating changes in technology.

COMPARISON OF COMPUTERS One of the real problems of the day for the research worker, who wishes to acquire a new computing facility, is the problem of the evaluation and testing of computing systems. Obviously the best method of comparison of software or hardware is via the Formal Description. Languages of formal description have been developed for programming and also for computer architectual comparisons. Such a notation, ISP, was developed to formalize the information normally given in basic machine manuals and to supplement and, possibly replace programming reference manuals. This notation was introduced for descriptive purposes by Bell and Newell (Computer Structures, McGraw Hill, New York) in 1971. For actual use it was revised and renamed ISPL, with further developments during the mid and late seventies. In a project at the Carnegie‐Mellon University, Drs. Barbacci and Siewiorek used Formal Computer Descriptions for the evaluation of test programs. The formal language ISPL was used to define the architecture of a computer. The description compiles into an intermediate form that can be linked to and interpreted by a simulator. A symbolic translator converts assembler‐generated outputs of test programs into commands that initialize the simulator. After execution of the test program a post‐processor summarizes the dynamic behaviour. This is surely the first time that the architectures of commercially viable computers have been described in formal language, descriptions compiled and then used to drive a simulator executing benchmarks, and diagnostic machine language programs.