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To reconstruct the way in which the difference of analog vs digital was introduced in the 1940s and to investigate why this difference was so fundamental to the whole cybernetic epistemology.

A close reading of the discussions about the terms “analog” and “digital” at the Macy‐Conferences (held during 1946‐1953) reveals how cybernetic discourse is founded on a suppression of the “real” (i.e. the physical, continuous, material, analog) by the “symbolic” (i.e. the artificial, discrete, logical, digital).

First, the difference between “analog” and “digital” resembles the Kantian difference of “senses” and “reason”. Together they form the “illusionary” function, which a digital‐oriented cybernetics tries to abandon. Second, the attempt to get rid of this illusion produces itself a “cybernetic illusion”, that replaces the anthropological illusion established (according to Michel Foucault) in late 18th century.

Showing that Heinz von Foerster's work could be seen as an attempt to establish a balance of power between analog and digital, and to respect the illusionary function of cybernetic knowledge.

Presents an “in memoriam” tribute to Heinz von Foerster.

Outlines his work.

Introduces his inspiring contributions in the applied sciences and to the more general researches on the theoretical and practical implications of the cybernetic epistemology.

Gives insights to the importance of the work of von Foerster.

The purpose of this paper is to target the problem of awareness of the history of cybernetics as a field with different actors inside and outside cybernetics. It provides a short overview on research and literature during the last two decades and pleads for a multiplicity of historical views.

Historical research, review of literature.

While it can be found that there was a growing historical interest in cybernetics, this cannot be claimed for the history of the American Society of Cybernetics (ASC) as an organization and a productive network. One reason seems to be the lack of archival sources. The article provides a proposal to reconstruct such an archive for the history of the ASC.

Stimulation of historical awareness for and in cybernetics.

The purpose of this paper is to give concrete ideas to the development of MPA programmes in the light of the changing public sector. Following the introduction of ideas and practices from New Public Management, public managers face new requirements. The paper aims to deal with some of them and argues that in order to be a competent manager in the public sector today, one needs to be able to self‐develop four types of competence‐in‐practice: methodological competencies; theoretical competencies; meta‐theoretical competencies; and contextual competencies.

The approach in the paper is explorative and normative. The paper explores the changes and challenges in the public sector based on the aforementioned four types of competence‐in‐practice. Following that the paper presents a normative model for curriculum design and exemplify the development and possible processes of learning‐centered MPA programmes.

The paper finds that learning‐centred MPA programmes are fruitful for the development of said the types of competence‐in‐practice.

With its particular focus on public sector management education this article may be relevant to curriculum developers, academics and practitioners interested in education and employability of public managers.

The paper shows that building on theories about learning, competencies, and curriculum development suggests a processual model for curriculum development that can inspire faculty members to develop learning‐centred MPA programmes where focus is learning and competence development.

The successful management of business expatriates and their families in hostile environments (HE) is a current concern for academics and human resources (HR) practitioners alike. Terrorism and other forms of violent crime have become salient topics on the public agenda, and international organizations are increasingly affected. Hence, scholarly interest in the HR implications for organizations sending staff to HEs has recently grown, and a nascent research area has emerged. This paper is the first systematic review synthesizing emerging literature in the field of expatriate management in HEs and its theoretical foundations, applying a multi-stakeholder perspective.

Following accepted review procedures, systematic searches were conducted across three major databases. Manual search in target journals provided additional scrutiny.

After analysing 28 articles, four main stakeholders were identified as follows: environments, expatriates, assigning organizations and the expatriates' social networks. Findings reveal the ways of how all stakeholders can affect expatiation success or be affected so that the success of the assignment is jeopardised.

Our paper illustrates how these diverse articles can be linked within a comprehensive multi-stakeholder framework and provides avenues for future research. We also shift attention to neglected theoretical perspectives that might further improve the understanding of expatriates in HEs while offering actionable guidance for managerial and organizational practices.

This paper considers the meaning of the term ‘compliant competent life assurance companies’, within the current regulatory regime. It defines the terms of competence and compliance in the context of the change of emphasis from individual to corporate compliance competence. It recognises the importance of the introduction of competence within the financial sector and especially the role of the training and competence scheme for individuals, introduced after the Financial Services Act 1986. It considers the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA’s) more expansive interpretation of compliance competence in the context of life assurance companies, following the creation of the single regulator that aims to achieve the stated objectives of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000. It reviews and critically analyses key issues associated with the FSA’s move towards an ethical framework for financial services.

This paper aims to explore the personal and academic growth of A. Fuat Firat as one example of his academic life.

This is a more personal history, in addition to the 2014 academic history of A. Fuat Firat