Andrew (Andrzej) Stanislaw Targowski (born October 9, 1937) is a Polish–American
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
specializing in
enterprise computing
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than individual users. Such organizations include businesses, schools, interest-based user groups, ...
, societal computing, information technology impact upon
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
,
information theory
Information theory is the scientific study of the quantification (science), quantification, computer data storage, storage, and telecommunication, communication of information. The field was originally established by the works of Harry Nyquist a ...
,
wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
theory, and
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
theory. One of the pioneers of applied information systems in Poland, he is an executive, university professor, scientist, civilizationist, philosopher, visionary, writer, and generalist.
In Poland he is known for developing a computerized the social security number (
PESEL, 1972–74) for 38 million citizens, a prototype of INFOSTRADA (1972–1974), and authoring of the first books on applied information technology in business, economy, and society. In the United States he has developed one of the first digital cities in the U.S., teleCITY of Kalamazoo, Michigan (1992–1996). He concentrated on the cognitive informatics-oriented development of the theories of enterprise-wide system, information, communication, civilization, and wisdom.
Biography
Targowski was born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland. His father, Stanislaw, Adam (1893–1945) was a lawyer, diplomat, politician, and writer. Targowski's father was arrested by the Germans in 1940 and sent to
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
, later to
Gross-Rosen
Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Rogoźnica in ...
and
Nordhausen Mittelbau-Dora, where he was a slave worker for the production of
V1 and
V2 weapons. On March 21, 1945, he was publicly executed by hanging for sabotaging that production. Targowski's mother Halina Krzyrzanska-Targowska (1907–1975) was born on her parents' large estate in Eastern Poland-Podole, now in Ukraine. She was a teenager when the
Russian Revolution 1917 devastated her family, which resulted in her escaping to Warsaw. During
the Warsaw (Polish) Uprising (September 1944) she was wounded 14 times. She was able to take out her son Andrew (then 7 years old) from a pile of corpses, after the execution. After the War, Targowski went to the private (later nationalized) W.Gòrski School in Warsaw. When
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
died on March 23, 1953, he and other boys shot air guns at pictures of the state officials, hanging in a classroom, celebrating the too soon conceived victory over the occupiers. Consequently, he was expelled from the school and completed his baccalaureate at the T. Reytan School in Warsaw in 1954. He married Alicja Kowalczyk in 1962 and has a son Stan (Stanislaw – computer scientist). After his divorce, he remarried Irmina Dura-Kubas (MD and Ph.D
in 1978 and has a son John (attorne
and a step-daughter Agnieszka (geophysicist), and three grandchildren; Julian (computer professional), Marcel and Veronica.
Education
Targowski graduated from the
Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw Politechnic (1961) from the Faculty of
Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex process (engineering), processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, kno ...
. Defended in a public presentation a master's degree thesis on "''The Computerized Integrated
Information Systems
An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, information storage, store, and information distribution, distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems a ...
in the RAWAR T1 Factory,''" which was making military and civilian (commercial navy) radars. In 1962 he formulated (behind
the Iron Curtain) the model of a list of parts and components (
Bill of Material Processor – BOMP) for highly complex products, characterized by 19 levels of assemblies and thousands of components. Nowadays, this kind of systems is called
ERP. It was the first master thesis on
Management Information Systems
A management information system (MIS) is an information system used for decision-making, and for the coordination, control, analysis, and visualization of information in an organization. The study of the management information systems involves peop ...
defended in Poland. During his study at the Warsaw Politechnic he actively participated in the famous
Students Unrest in October 1956. This students' protest ended the
Stalinist Era
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
in Poland, but the "liberal"
totalitarian dictatorship
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
was still intact. As a penalty, he lost scholarship, and had to take a part-time job as a draftsman at an engineering bureau, designing brick factories. In 1969, Targowski defended his PhD dissertation on "The Conditions of the Optimization of Hierarchical Management Information Systems" at the Warsaw Politechnic. He proved in his dissertation that the optimal configuration of a hierarchical computer infrastructure had to be composed of
mainframe and
minicomputer
A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller general purpose computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold at a much lower price than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970 survey, ...
s. It defied the official state strategy, which preferred the development of mainframes only, since that kind of a strategy was pursued by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. He later supported
Jacek Karpiński
Jacek Karpiński (9 April 1927 21 February 2010) was a Polish pioneer in computer engineering and computer science.
During World War II, he was a soldier in the Batalion Zośka of the Polish Home Army, and was awarded multiple times with a ...
, a famous Polish designer of minicomputers (KARP and
K-202
K-202 was a 16-bit minicomputer, created by a team led by Polish scientist Jacek Karpiński between 1970–1973 in cooperation with British companies Data-Loop and M.B. Metals. Approximately 30 units were claimed to be produced. All units s ...
). During his professional life he passed an intensive computer training at
IBM schools in Belgium, Austria, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. He also passed an intensive computer training at the French company
BULL
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
in Paris in 1962–1964 and later in 1966 in United Kingdom, at
ICT/ICL and
NCR.
Work in Poland
As a student, he was a co-author of the first National Program for the Development of Information Technology in Poland (Economic Council of the Council of Ministers – KERM 400, 1961). In 1962 he founded the first Polish Systems Analysis Laboratory at the Institute of Machine Industry Organization (ORGMASZ). In this workshop, according to KERM Resolution 400, he participated as an executive in the design of the first Polish computer business management information systems at RAWAR (radars factory) – 1961, the Radio Plant Marcin Kasprzak in Warsaw – 1962, the Lamp Plant R. Luxemburg in Warsaw −1962, Truck plant in Starachowice – 1966 (
ICT 1301
The ICT 1301 and its smaller derivative ICT 1300 were early business computers from International Computers and Tabulators. Typical of mid-sized machines of the era, they used core memory, drum storage and punched cards, but they were unusual in t ...
). In 1966, he was able to bring to Poland the
IBM 1440 machine, which was the first such contract with
IBM then behind the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
.
[EASTERN EUROPE: Computermania (1967). ''Newsweek'' (International Ed), March 27.] Between 1965 and 1971 as the first employee and CEO of Warsaw's ZETO-Zowar participated in the establishment of networks between Poland's 50 ZETO regional centers
:pl:ZETO. ZETO computer centers employed about 5000 computer professionals. In ZETO-Zowar he initiated and oversaw the design of the first in Poland (1966) Production Calculation Software Package – now called
ERP (
BOMP,
MRP I and MRP II) – advanced industrial processing systems, supporting integrated production management in the automotive plant
FSO and Nowotko diesel engine plant in Warsaw, first on
IBM 1440 The IBM 1440 computer was announced by IBM October 11, 1962. This member of the IBM 1400 series was described many years later as "essentially a lower-cost version of the 1401," and programs for the 1440 could easily be adapted to run on the IBM 14 ...
,
and later on
IBM System/360
The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems that was announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. It was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applica ...
mainframes.
As a volunteer he took part in the planning of the second National Informatics Development Plan for the years 1971–1975. He took over the design of the system nationwide directory of personal social security number:
PESEL/Magister/PESEL (1972–1974). He developed the WEKTOR system for accounting and control of public investments (1972–1974). As the Deputy Director General of the National Office of Information Technology (1971–1974), he developed the concept of ''INFOSTRADA'' (
Information Superhighway), that concept returned in U.S. 20 years later reinvented by staff of senator
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
) and the National Information System (KSI).
INFOSTRADA and KSI development plans were hindered by the political authorities as too risky for the dictatorship of the communist system, because they promoted the free flow of information in society. From that moment the trouble started for Targowski's employment and publishing, and organized harassment of his person began: in 1977, he was removed from the editorial board of Informatyka
:pl:Informatyka (czasopismo),(a computer journal first called ''Maszyny Matematyczne'' (''Mathematical Machines'') which he co-founded in 1966), his publications were blocked. Then he was fired from consecutive jobs. Employed at the Institute of Building Machines in Kobyłka, he was asked to be absent at work. As a result of harassment he began efforts to go abroad. He was Poland's delegate to the Working Group on Automation at the United Nations (Geneva), (1972–74)
Work in the United States
In January 1980 Targowski (through a Polish foreign trade agency Polservice, specializing in exporting Polish professionals) went to Mexico, and then in 1980 to the United States where he got political asylum. In the U.S., he worked in the
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
(1974–1975),
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
(1980–1982)
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
(1982–1983),
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online un ...
(1984), and the longest, from 1985 until today, as a professor of computer information systems in Western Michigan University,
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
, Michigan. In the 1990s he was first a chairman of the board overseeing the development of a teleCITY of Kalamazo
in 1996 he was a director of that project, which he managed as a research project, simultaneously working as a faculty at Western Michigan University. In the United States, his experience on information highways (
Information superhighway, INFOSTRADA) from Poland, led to the launch of one of America's first digital city projects—Telecity of Kalamazoo (1996).
In the U.S. he specializes in areas such as strategy and architecture of integrated
enterprise system
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than individual users. Such organizations include businesses, schools, interest-based user groups, ...
s,
semantic ladder,
futurology
Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will li ...
, modeling of
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
theory,
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
, the theory of wisdom and
theory of information. In total Targowski independently published 40 books (in English, Polish, and Italian), and additionally with co-authors 10 chapters of other books in English. He also developed about 180 scientific and professional articles in Polish and English.
Volunteer work in professional associations in the United States
* IRMA, Information Resources Management Association – president of advisory council (1995–200
* ISCSC, The International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations – president (2007–201
* Foreign Member of Academy of Engineering in Poland (Akademia Inżynierska w Polsce, 200 elected members out of 120,000 engineers)
ww.akademiainzynierska.pl
* World Research Council of Polonia (
Światowa Rada Badań nad Polonią) – president (2001–2007)
* Colleagues International – president (1999–200
* Northern American Polish Engineer Council (Rada Inżynierów Polskich w Ameryce Północnej) – founder (2003), director (2003–2011), vicepresident (od 201
* Polonia Technica, New York – honorary membe
* Polish Tennis Association (
:pl:Polski Związek Tenisowy, Polski Związek Tenisowy) – president (1971–1972).
* Northern American Polish Studies (Północnoamerykańskie Studium ds. Polskich), chief editor of Studium Library (1990–2000).
* Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (Polski Instytut Naukowy i Sztuki) New York, membe
* Polish Scientific Society in Exile (Polskie Towarzystwo Naukowe na Obczyźnie), London, membe
*
Józef Piłsudski Institute of America
The Józef Piłsudski Institute of America (full name: Józef Piłsudski Institute of America for Research in the Modern History of Poland) was created in New York City in July 1943. It is an archive, museum and research center devoted to the stud ...
(Instytut im. Józefa Piłsudskiego), New York, member
* American Polish Advisory Council, Washington, D.C.
* ''Dialogue and Universalism'', Advisory Council vice-chairma
* Association of the Children of Uprising 1944, honorary president
Theory of enterprise-wide systems
Targowski based his master thesis on his involvement in the development of enterprise-wide systems in the heavy machinery industry in Poland, while in the U.S. defined his first version of the theory of
Enterprise system, enterprise-wide systems. It is composed of the Generic Enterprise Processive Model, Bill of Systems Processor (BOSP), the Federational Architecture of Information Management Complex, and the System Planning Technique of Enterprise-wide IMS. He published this theory in ''Journal of Management Information Systems'', Fall 1988 (vol.5, no.2, pp. 23–38). He expanded this theory into the Architecture of Hierarchical IMS,
strategic
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
and tactical planning of enterprise-wide systems and defining the generic systems architectures for such systems as
MIS
MIS or mis may refer to:
Science and technology
* Management information system
* Marine isotope stage, stages of the Earth's climate
* Maximal independent set, in graph theory
* Metal-insulator-semiconductor, e.g., in MIS capacitor
* Minimally ...
,
control system
A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial c ...
,
Management Support System, Manufacturing Operation IS, Construction Operation IS, Office IS, and Home IS. He published these in his book ''The Architecture and Planning of Enterprise-wide IMS'' (1990). He continued the development of this theory by defining models of 8 enterprise systems configurations; ''off-line enterprise'', ''on-line enterprise'', ''integrated enterprise'',
agile enterprise, ''informated enterprise'', ''communicated enterprise'', ''mobile enterprise'', ''electronic enterprise'', and ''virtual enterprise''. This approach should provide a clear target for the enterprise systems software development, just as in civil engineering the architecture of a church should be different from that of a school. To understand the invisible
complexity
Complexity characterises the behaviour of a system or model whose components interaction, interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to nonlinearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence.
The term is generall ...
of thousands of electronic systems of an enterprise, he defined the generic architecture of Enterprise
Information Infrastructure
An information infrastructure is defined by Ole Hanseth (2002) as "a shared, evolving, open, standardized, and heterogeneous installed base" and by Pironti (2006) as all of the people, processes, procedures, tools, facilities, and technology whic ...
, composed of 6 layers, such as 1-''Telecommunication Layer'', 2-''Computer Networks Layer'', 3-''Internet Layer'', 4-''Computing Layer'', 5-''Communication Layer'', and 6-''Application Layer''. He also defined analytical approaches to align business and IT strategies and published these new approaches in his book ''Electronic Enterprise: Strategy and Architecture'' (2003). He generalized the Enterprise Systems Approach through the classification of enterprises into the following categories; ''industrial enterprise, service enterprise, electronic enterprise, virtual enterprise, value-creation enterprise, sustainable enterprise'' and defined their basic characteristics. He also defined the evolution of the enterprise systems development and published these new approaches in his chapter on The Enterprise Systems Approach in the book ''Social, Managerial, and Organizational Dimensions of Enterprise Information Systems''(2010) edited by Maria Manuela Cruz-Cunha. Further work led him to defining the generic architecture of a service enterprise, what he published in his paper on The Architecture of Service Systems as the Framework for the Definition of
Service Science
Service science, management, and engineering (SSME) is a term introduced by IBM to describe an interdisciplinary approach to the study and innovation of service systems. More precisely, SSME has been defined as the application of science, managem ...
Scope in ''International Journal of Information Systems in the Service Sector'', January-March2009, vol.1, No.1. In 2009 he expanded his approach to enterprise systems by presenting his information systems-based model of a ''sustainable enterprise'' at the International Conference CENTERIS-2009, October 7–9 in Ofir, Portugal—How to Transform the Information Infrastructure with respect to sustainability and global-orientation, and to Monitor and Predict the Sustainability of Civilization: the Organizational and Social Aspect. (''Proceedings'', pp. 17–28). He generalized mathematically the generic model of hierarchical information systems in his chapter on "Info-Mathics-The Mathematical Modelling of
Information system
An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...
s (including BOSP)" in L. Favre's book (2003).
Information society
Targowski was involved in the development of an
Information society
An information society is a society where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid inf ...
since the early 1970s, when he promoted the development of
INFOSTRADA in Poland. In that time he thought that this network will trigger the development of the ''Informed Society'' in a totalitarian state. However, the rulers had no interest in accomplishing that vision. On the other hand, the Dictatorship failed in 1989 with one of the main factors being the volume of underground ''uncensored'' press exceeding the volume of the official press, and it led to the rise of the ''Informed Society''. While in the U.S., published a paper on "Computing in Totalitarian States: Poland's Way to an ''Informed society''" (''Information Executive'', Summer 1991). In pursuing this issue he defined the taxonomy of an information Society, differentiating its 14 segments and offering a path of their development. He published it as a chapter in Y-chen Lan's book (2005). In 2008 he was asked by Ernst & Young to plan the Information Society for Poland. He developed a comprehensive set of models for the state, regions, cities, and villages. He published it as a chapter in his book ''Information Technology and Societal Development'' (2009).
Electronic global village
Targowski recognized in the 1980s that
Marshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan (July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media theory. He studied at the University of Manitoba and the University of Cambridge. He began his ...
's concept of the
Global Village
Global village describes the phenomenon of the entire world becoming more interconnected as the result of the propagation of media technologies throughout the world. The term was coined by Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan in his books ' ...
must be extended into the Electronic Global Village, despite the fact that the Internet was conceived just in 1983, after splitting
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
into
MILNET
In computer networking, MILNET (fully Military Network) was the name given to the part of the ARPANET internetwork designated for unclassified United States Department of Defense traffic.DEFENSE DATA NETWORK NEWSLETTEDDN-NEWS 26 6 May 1983
MILNE ...
and the Internet. He presented his concept at the II International Conference of Information Resource Management Association on May 22, 1991, in Memphis, Tennessee, and published about the new rising phenomenon in a paper on Strategies and Architecture of the Electronic Global Village in ''The Information Society-An International Journal'', analyzing also issues To Build or Not to Build? and To Inform or to Control? After 22 years (2012), the first question got a positive answer, but the answer for the second question is still pending, due to the rising tendency by some agents "to control."
Theory of information
Targowski found some difficulties in designing information systems for business and administration who did not know the meaning of information. The quantitative theory of information (formulated by
Hartley and
Shannon) defines information as I = -Log
2 p(α). In business activities, if someone on Tuesday says that tomorrow is Wednesday, p=1 and then I=0. However, on Wednesday there may be a discount at a given store, what is very meaningful for an information user. He thinks that the traditional theory of information mostly deals with its syntax in a general sense, answering the question of ''how to process information''. Therefore, he developed the approach based upon its semantics, which means answering the question ''what information to process''? He invented the concept of the Semantic Ladder, composed of the following units of cognition, organized as steps (levels); 1-DATA (measurement), 2-
Information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
(change), 3-
Concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
(direction), 4-
Knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
(principles, rules, laws), 5-
Wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
(judgment & choice). First time he published this
DICKW model in his book ''The Architecture and Planning of Enterprise-wide Information Management Systems'' (1990:136), consequently he began to improving its graphic model in his following books (2003:115, 2009:223, 2011:27). In his book (2009) he defined several perspectives and images of information. This approach defines the differentiated frameworks of IS design in the scope of ''
data processing
Data processing is the collection and manipulation of digital data to produce meaningful information.
Data processing is a form of ''information processing'', which is the modification (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an ...
,
information processing
Information processing is the change (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process that ''describes'' everything that happens (changes) in the universe, from the falling of a rock (a change in posit ...
,
concept processing, knowledge processing'', and ''wisdom processing''. He also differentiated approaches to information's conceptualization at the level of the macro-information ecology. It allowed him to define four universal laws of information:
* Law I: ''The complexity of the
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
(man, material, information, and nature) is proportional to the level of the existing information reservoir.''
* Law II: ''Information generates consequences, which it cannot foresee.''
* Law III: ''The precision and certitude of information is proportional to the simplicity of the object of information or inversely proportional to the complexity of the object.''
* Law IV: ''The progress of the
Information Wave generates relative ignorance and interdependence among people and globalizes humanity''.
He published these universal information laws in his chapter on The Information Laws in D. White's book in 2002. Later, he included this chapter to his book (2009).
Theory of communication
Targowski recognized in the
Information Age
The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during ...
, that for
Hartley, and for the
Shannon and
Weaver model of communication process that followed, that ''interpretation'' of a communicated message is not part of communication process. In those models communication has no significant, human meaning. Since they care about channel capacity and signal quality. Only
Korzybski's model focuses on matters communicated between the sender and receiver to a certain degree. Therefore, Targowski and Joel Bowman developed a new approach based on the ''semantic reaction'' paradigm (new in communication theory), which includes more communication components and their role in understanding what is communicated. In consequence, they developed the Layer-based, Pragmatic Model of Communication Process. Those layers/links (Physical, Systems, Session, Environment, Functions & Role, Symbols, Behavior, Value, Storage Retrieval) contribute to the logical understanding of communication between the sender and receiver and as the result generate ''reflective information''. The quality of communication was defined in four possible outcomes; ''trans-communication, pseudo-communication, miscommunication,'' and ''para-communication''. They published about it in two papers; "Modeling the Communication Process: The Map is not the Territory." (''The Journal of Business Communication'', Fall 1987:21–34) and "The Layer-based, Pragmatic Model of the Communication Process." (''The Journal of Business Communication'', Winter 1988:25–40). In reaction to some critique of this model, Targowski expanded this theory by modeling
cognitive
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
processes engaged in communication. He published this in a paper "Beyond a Concept of a Communication Process." (''The Journal of Business Communication'', Winter 1990:75–86).
In the
Global Economy
The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, ...
very often communicating parties come from different countries or even civilizations. Such a case Targowski and Ali Metwalli classified as asymmetric communication (
cross-culture communication).
They investigated this kind of communication and defined its mathematical model allowing computation of
communication efficiency and communication success probability. They defined the five following rules: ''Culture Richness Rule I, Communication Climate Rule II, Communication Ability Rule III, Communication Competitive Advantage Rule IV, and Communication Cost Rule V.'' They also founded that for example if an Egyptian communicates with an American, the former must invest in the cost of successful communication 1.8
more than the latter, due to 20 culture items included in that cost. They published their work as a chapter „The Framework for Cross-culture Communication Process Efficiency and Cost in the Global Economy” in ed. E. Szewczak and C. Snodgrass' book (2002).
Theory of wisdom
According to Targowski's approach, despite of wisdom's high status, the first sages had problems in dealing with wisdom and stated that only God(s) have the privilege of having wisdom, and that people must follow their wise recommendations. Even philosophers in modern times continue to think the same way, perhaps due to their disappointment of humans’ unwise dealings. In the last 100 years, the issue of
wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
was treated by science as intelligence. The index of
Intelligence Quotient
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term ''Intelligenzqu ...
(IQ) scores are used in many contexts: as predictors of educational achievement or special needs, by social scientists who study the distribution of IQ scores in populations and the relationships between IQ score and other variables, and as predictors of job performance and income. However, IQ measures intelligence as the ability of solving problems, but not wisdom per se.
The Targowski approach is based on the cognitive informatics approach and the following premises:
*Every mentally healthy individual has some level of wisdom in thinking and making decisions.
*Wisdom is not knowledge; it is a virtue. However, there is knowledge about wisdom which is just in ''status nascendi.''
*Wisdom, in a very short definition is ''Prudent Judgment and Choice''. Hence, one can perceive a person to be knowledgeable but not necessarily wise, and vice versa.
*Wisdom is not a synonym or an extension of intelligence. Intelligence is the ability to solve problems while wisdom is the final touch in prudent judgment and choosing a good solution among available options.
*Wisdom can be practical, theoretical, global, and universal.
*Wisdom can be taught. Left to the practice only, it is usually applied too late to impact the right course of action. Wisdom is as a plant which must be nurtured to grow.
Wisdom should be monitored in civilization like strategic resources because it is the most important human resource on Earth.
Wisdom is time- and context-specific. There are unique wisdoms for different categories or types of mind (''Basic-BM, Whole-WM, Global-GM'', and ''Universal-UM''), and wisdom means different things at the individual, family, professional, and civilization levels. The ''Basic Mind'' is intuitive, communicative, practical, and moral, allowing humans to function in
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
. The ''Whole Mind'' adds a theoretical component to the ''Basic Mind'', allowing for knowing through logical reasoning, leading to the development of advanced science and technology. The ''Global Mind'' is a ''Whole Mind'' that is connected and digital, and allows humans to think beyond their immediate experience and existence. The future of the human mind is the ''Universal Mind'', which will evolve if humans can cooperate to try to save
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
. In consequence, based on the presented empiric review of human wisdom Targowski perceives it in the following manner:
''Human wisdom is a combination of individual, family, profession, and
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
wisdoms applying, according to the needs: ''BASIC, WHOLE, GLOBAL'', and ''UNIVERSAL MINDS'' in order to provide practical, moral, theoretical, and method-oriented worldliness and
universality, proceeding to
prudent judgments
Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle ...
and choices of concepts. They are supported by data, information, and
knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
– leading to conclusions, positions, solutions, decisions, actions, and so forth, which are understandable, competent, and sensitive''. In a short, Targowski's practical definition describes wisdom as:
''
Wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
is based upon skillful
judgment
Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to decision-making, make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct u ...
and
choice
A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a giv ...
driven by the art of life. For many, the art of life still can be a puzzle. The key to this puzzle is in understanding and learning how to cope with the components and factors of wisdom.'' Targowski perceives the art of life as set of the following traits:be philosophical (know your values), be moral and ethical, control emotions, be reflective:remember-forget-connect, be altruistic, be patient, communicate your solutions, other. He published his wisdom theory in his book (2011). In the Spring 2012 he taught a course on HRS 4900 Wisdom at the Lee Honors College at
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
(WMU) and published his experience in his book (2012). It was the first course (academic for a credit) on such topic at WMU and perhaps in the U.S.
Theory of civilization
After the fall of Communism in 1989/1991
Solidarity
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
(1980–1989)]. The New world order (politics), New World Order was announced and Francis Fukuyama proclaimed the ''end of history'' (1992) and the return to the ideals of the French Revolution. Unfortunately the world became not more peaceful but less, due to the war with terrorism.
Samuel Huntington explained it as
The Clash of Civilizations (1993). Ever since Targowski has pursued this idea and became an active member of the
, eventually being elected its president for two terms (2007–2013). During his tenure he tried to transform the Society's interests from the early history of civilization to the current one. He learned a lot from such civilizationists as
Arnold Toynbee,
Pitirim Sorokin
Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin (; russian: Питири́м Алекса́ндрович Соро́кин; – 10 February 1968) was a Russian American sociologist and political activist, who contributed to the social cycle theory.
Background
...
and Matthew Melko. He attempted to define a modern theory of civilization in his book (2009). In contrast to the English-French-American Single Elemental Model (civilization=culture) and the German Two Elemental Model (culture includes civilization) he developed the Three Elemental Model (society-culture-infrastructure). He defined three Grand Laws of Civilizations (2009:35):
*Law I: ''People have seen themselves as entering the world with a potential of many gifts, and they hope to fulfill these gifts in the development of their own lives'' (
Bronowski
Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...
and Mazlish 1999).
*Law II: ''People constantly aim for freedom; the range of this freedom depends on the level of the entity’s knowledge, communication ability, and the knowledge of the international community.''
*Law III: ''Mankind consciously steers the development of civilization through the formulation and implementation of the main ideas and values of a given epoch.''
*Law IV: ''The degree of a country’s historical success is proportional to a level of harmony among political, social, and economic domains.''
Targowski perceives the roots of civilization problems in dynamics of the Death Triangle of Civilization, which is composed of
the Population Bomb
''The Population Bomb'' is a 1968 book co-authored by Stanford University Professor emeritus Paul R. Ehrlich and Stanford senior researcher emeritus in conservation biology Anne Howland Ehrlich. It predicted worldwide famine due to overpopulati ...
,
Ecological Bomb, and Resources Bomb (book 2009:404). The symptoms of this Triangle are seen today, but they will be more visible about 2050, when population will reach 9–10 billion. To save civilization, we should grow 3% in the whole third millennium, while the practical growth at the world level reaches 1–3% per year. To save our civilization he thinks that one must develop a Wise
Civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
. The first condition of the design of the architecture of a Wise Civilization is civilians undertaking to introduce the second level of complementary "religion" - spirituality, which can be called
Spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
2.0. It does not replace any of the existing Religions 1.0, which would not only be a heresy, but an outrageous revolution, impossible to win, but also an unnecessary and harmful. The point is not to fight religion but that it should grow at the global level rather than in some areas of the world. Spirituality 2.0 would teach complementary
morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
, founded upon the most essential values of the particular Religions 1.0 such ones as those which steer these civilizations:
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
,
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Islamic
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
,
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
African
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
(eclectic). The aggregation of those complementary values should lead to the development of the Universal-Complementary Civilization--"Wise Civilization" since will be built upon
tolerance ("love your foreigner") (2011:206).
Targowski thinks that over the last 200 years, civilization used three socio-political systems:
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
,
Socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, as well as their various combinations. None of these systems can control the Universal-Complementary Civilization. In this situation, a new socio-political system needs to be developed, which Targowski calls Ecologism, from the word
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
, a synonym of
biosphere
The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...
. The following aims will be set before it:
*Mission: implementing the policies of sustainable development of civilization.
*Aim: controlling population growth and the consumption of resources in such a manner that the next generation will have the same living conditions as the previous one.
*Strategy:
sufficiency versus
efficiency
Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...
, with the society evolving towards a wise society.
*Main policies:
**
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
is the most important.
**People are more important than markets.
**People's health is more important than money.
**Sufficiency is more important than efficiency.
**Business is subservient to and controlled by society.
*Ecologism includes the following subsystems:
**
Eco-education – based on eco-knowledge and wisdom.
**
Wise society – trained and educated in the knowledge of eco-education and having qualifications to wise decision-making.
**
Eco-democracy — all equal to each other but not to the environment, which is supreme to man.
**
Eco-justice – any violation of the law must also be assessed against and possibly punished for possible harm done to the environment.
**
Eco-infrastructure – operates in harmony with Nature and protects it against destruction.
**
Deep Economy – includes environmental and social costs alongside those of business and administration into cost-effectiveness calculations.
**Deep media – comprehensively and impartially inform the society of the plight and development of the sustainable civilization.
The development of Wise Civilization will not begin if it is left to the popular ''
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...
'' of today. The danger of civilization collapse indicates that a certain dosage of social engineering is necessary. It would be about a mix of a bottom-up and top-down approaches. The role of organizations such as the UN is as indispensable as the involvement of
NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
. Even today every school and university ought to apply itself to developing
eco-knowledge and
wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
, as well as training wise graduates. Those will be candidates for wise citizens, workers, leaders, who will apply wise solutions in their positions, ones which would develop Wise Society and Wise Civilization.
Targowski is a realist and thinks that the likelihood of the introduction of the enforcement of
Spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
2.0 is currently very small but given the good will of those involved, and particularly if they prove wise, might be possible.
Theory of economics
Targowski as a generalist took the civilization and wisdom approaches to analyze the 2008 and beyond world economic/
financial crises
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
. He sees its roots in the transformation of
Western civilization
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
into
global civilization
A planetary civilization or global civilization is a civilization of Type I on the Kardashev scale. This type of civilization is likely to be reliant on renewable energy sources such as stellar power, as well as powerful non-renewable sources s ...
. Since each civilization is characterized by a religion, the question is what is a religion of global civilization? Christianity (of Western and Eastern)? No. Rather ''business'' is its "religion", a secular one. It implies that business values (
profit maximization
In economics, profit maximization is the short run or long run process by which a firm may determine the price, input and output levels that will lead to the highest possible total profit (or just profit in short). In neoclassical economics, w ...
and
social responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind.
Social ...
minimization) dominate the mind set of the
World Elite
The World Elite was a villainous professional wrestling alliance in the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). The group consisted of multicultural wrestlers, representing various countries around the world. Created by Canadi ...
. Hence, the
market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
expands into market society and everything is for sale. The wisdom approach says that what was once wise (ex. in the 19th century) does not have to be wise today (21st century). The
Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in m ...
stimulation of the market worked well in the
closed economy
Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems.
Autarky as an ideal or method has been embraced by a wide range of political ideologies and movements, especially ...
in the 1930s–40s. It does not work in the 2010s when the economy is open (
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
). The market economy worked after the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
but today is controlled more by lobbyists than by the "
invisible hand
The invisible hand is a metaphor used by the British moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the unintended greater social benefits and public good brought about by individuals acting in their own self-interests. Smith originally mention ...
". Furthermore, just common sense wisdom tells us that a large country's
service economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments:
* The increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. The current list of Fortune 500 companies contains more service companies and fewer ma ...
cannot grow, since is based upon weak income and low demand. The same level of wisdom shows that businesses are not created by the billionaires but by the customers with disposable income. The success of
small
Small may refer to:
Science and technology
* SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language
* Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back
* ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication
* <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...
and medium business (SMB) depends on big business' cooperation. These kind of issues he and Edward Jayne put in the paper "The Business Religion of Global Civilization." (''Dialogue and Universalism,'' vol. XX, no. 9–10, 2010, pp. 95–112). Also, Targowski initiated team research on Spirituality and Civilization Sustainability in the 21st Century. The results of this research should be published in 2013.
Service systems and automation laws
Since the Western-West (Atlantic) civilization is in decline in the 21st century, some political leaders suggest recovery from that state by emphasizing more innovations by business. One forgets that more innovations in service economies lead to higher unemployment. Hence, Targowski (influenced by
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
's
laws of robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 colle ...
) defined Laws of
service n his book (2009:273)
*Law I – ''Do not develop
service system
A service system (or customer service system, CSS) is a configuration of technology and organizational networks designed to deliver services that satisfy the needs, wants, or aspirations of customers. "Service system" is a term used in the servi ...
s without human presence.''
*Law II – ''Do not develop service systems which harm society.''
*Law III-''Do not develop service systems which endanger
human race
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
.''
Another political suggestion indicates that Western Civilization is going to regain manufacturing from China but it will be functioning in "dark factories." Targowski with Vladimir Modrák developed the following Laws of
Automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
:
*Law I. ''Do not implement high automation technology before you are sure that same goal can be achieved by another means''.
*Law II. ''Do not implement automation technology with the aim to totally eliminate human presence in manufacturing process.''
*Law III. ''Do not develop automation which harms society or endangers the human race.''
To integrate all these laws into one coherent discipline, a new one should be pursued. Perhaps it should be named ''Technosophie'', which should investigate wise engineering for wise civilization. This kind of engineering should be only developed today and aimed at the
sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
of our civilization in times of shrinking strategic resources of the planet. It is widely known that population becomes too big to sustain our western styles of life, even in a short-term future. Hence, the future is now and ''Technosophie'' is needed today as never before. Targowski and Modrák presented their laws in a paper "Is Advance Automation Consistent with Sustainable Economic Growth in Developed World? at the International Conference CENTERIS-2011 in Vilamoura, Portugal, October 5–7, 2011 and published it in the Proceedings ENTERprise Information Systems Part I:63–72, published by Springer, 2011.
Other works
Psychology
Targowski used his
cognitive
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
informatics
Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM ''Europe and'' ''Informatics Europe'', informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which ...
approach and "connected" life's purpose: happiness and wisdom. His purpose was to define an approach to include
wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
,
awareness
Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some inform ...
of life's purpose, and happiness into constructs of
resilience and resourcefulness of the human system. He found that ''wisdom'' (in the civilization context), the
purposes of life, and happiness must be recognized as indispensable attributes of human existence and nature, and they represent necessary resources that enhance resilience to all kinds of challenges. He offered a method how to test these traits investigated by psychologists. In summary, he also found that human wise (positive) life usually is accomplished through self-realization or self-creation within boundaries and degrees of happiness which depends on knowing a given life's purposes (or fulfilling social roles) and on means leading to them. The former are subject to the development of one's capacities and aspirations as human potential for pleasing, shaped by social interaction. In the Western Civilization of the 21st century, a person's felicity implies liberty and freedom of choice. Targowski published this approach in a chapter "Wisdom, Awareness of Life's Purpose, and Happiness: the Cognitive Approach in Celinski & Grow's book (2011).
Health care
Health care policy became a very hot issue during
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's presidency. The health care business is the largest business in the U.S. (about 15% of GDP, $2.2 trillion in 2012) and is characterized by the constant rise of its costs and about 50 million citizens (16% of the population) who do not have any health insurance. One of the factors contributing to such a high cost is a high cost of processing data in this service. Targowski as a computer scientists and then a director of the Center for Sustainable Business Practices (2009–2012) at the Haworth College of Business at WMU organized a regional conference on "Health Care Crisis and Hope" at the Fetzer Center (WMU), September 25, 2010. He found that the main problem is not with "data" but with a lack of a defined role of the national health care in the society. He offered the following principles of the American health care services:
*1. The basic laws of the U.S. should be the foundation for the concept of health care:
**The
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
(1776) states that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and the
pursuit of happiness.
**
The United States Constitution (1787) is also the base for the concept of health care. In the Constitution's preamble is stated: “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
**The concept of “Happiness” and “Welfare” in the 18th century were slightly different from today. We can assume that both terms currently mean
"Well-Being of Americans." This value is a constitutional opportunity of an American. Well-being is a very time and process-oriented value that cannot be guaranteed forever. Once accomplished, it can be lost to many internal and external factors. On the other hand, the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
supports this value by providing tools that help in pursuing this opportunity.
*2. Good health of Americans is a constituent of their well-being. In other words, good well-being is usually determinant of good health. Without good well-being, Americans may not have good health.
*3. Good health care is a constitutional opportunity of Americans. Today health care is very expensive. If it is free, it certainly will not satisfy the high expectations of Americans. Do they often perceive death as an option? The choice is between the right and privilege of having health care. It depends on the state's economic situation and societal and political support. In this respect today, Americans are divided almost equally between the right and privilege. Due to almost 16 percent of the population not having health insurance (50 million) and high inequality (for 2000, 40.8% are below perfect distribution, according to the
Gini coefficient, comparable to Morocco's and in contrast to Norway's 25.8% in 2000 (2007 World Development Indicators,
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, pp. 67 –68), in times when 10 percent are unemployed and another 5 percent is out of statistics, to have a privilege of health care may lead to a lack of social tranquility which is expected by the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, basic health care should be perceived as the controlled right. It means that certain medical help is secured but its use is controlled and if it is abused by unwise life styles, it can be suspended.
*4. Well-being of Americans means an equal access to sustainable economic vitality with minimized inequality, based upon a sustainable environment which delivers healthy food, fresh water and air, and culture-oriented activities.
*5. Well-being of Americans is achievable through human and societal wisdom, meaning prudent choices made in economic, cultural, and technology-oriented processes.
**In particular, political wisdom is very important, since it leads the whole regions and nation.
**Human and societal wisdom requires mentally healthy people.
**Human and societal wisdom requires well educated citizens.
*6. Good health is possible if the Americans' life styles are wise and good.
He also designed the Architecture of National Health Information Exchange Network for the U.S. Targowski published his solution in a paper Well-Being, Wisdom, and Health, From the Big-picture to the Small Picture," in Targowski & Ruoff's book (2010). For this effort Targowski received a letter from Vice President Joe Biden.
[A letter from the office of the vice-president, Washington, April 28, 2011.]
Multiculturalism
Targowski as an immigrant feels very well the issue of
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
. In 1974-1975 when he was a visiting professor at
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
(Clinton, NY), the American Catholic Hierarchy did not allow mass in Polish since the goal was to integrate immigrants within the American society. In the 2000s a concept of multiculturalism was evolving with the popularity of hyphenated Americans (Polish-American, Mexican-American and so forth). In Western Europe, multiculturalism even evolved in many civic unrests, particularly in France. Steadily, the
American nation has been transforming into the American political society, with the tendency to protect specific groups' interest. Therefore, Targowski undertook research on multiculturalism and among several solutions defined, he emphasized the importance of the role of the ''middle culture''. This culture means – the full assimilation of immigrants, but particularly in the first generation is difficult. Therefore, to minimize their isolationist tendencies, one must require that these individuals accept the given state's culture, which is referred as the ''middle culture''. This kind of culture includes awareness and skills of a state citizen:
*National
value
Value or values may refer to:
Ethics and social
* Value (ethics) wherein said concept may be construed as treating actions themselves as abstract objects, associating value to them
** Values (Western philosophy) expands the notion of value beyo ...
s (expressed in the Constitution),
*
National symbol
A national symbol is a symbol of any entity considering and manifesting itself to the world as a national community: the sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of colonial or other dependence, federal integration, or even an ...
s (expressed, for example, in the pride of a national flag and military service),
*Official language as a mean of communication out of the original culture,
*
Intercultural communication
Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear w ...
– skills to communicate with another culture,
*
Cross-cultural communication
Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communic ...
– skills to communicate with many cultures,
*Other
It does not mean that an immigrant must follow rules of the middle culture only. In certain situations the immigrant should follows rules of three or more cultures. At home perhaps Polish culture can be practiced, at work the middle culture (American) should be obeyed, in a university class room perhaps Global culture should rule. If spouses come from different cultures/civilizations, behavior can be ruled by four or more cultures. Of course life in such environment is not easy.
He published his findings in a paper "The Clash of Peoples in Civilizations with the Comparative Modeling Perspective." in ''Comparative Civilizations Reviews'', Spring 2012, pp. 56–74. Those who have problems with immigration, he offers his personal approach "he loves Poland as his Mother, he loves the U.S. as his Wife."
Both "loves" are based upon loyalty, but of different kind.
Hobbies
In his youth in communistic Poland, Targowski avoided any involvement in communistic youth associations. However, the regime was clever and allowed young people to dance American
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
in in-door places to avoid any unrest at the streets. He applied this policy with good energy, but his main interest was in sport. He was
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
's representative in junior skiing. However, since Warsaw is located on a flat terrain, he could not compete successfully with those skiers, from the mountain regions, where they could ski every day. Therefore, he switched to ping-pong and tennis. In the 1950s he was junior champion of Warsaw in single and doubles (with Andre Lech). In 1979 he was an international champion of Poland in doubles (with Andre Lech) (
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...
). When
Gomułka's hard hand regime fell in December 1970, he was asked by tennis players to be a candidate for president of the Polish Tennis Association. He was elected (1971–1972), but after conducting 32 meetings/year, each a few hours, he resigned, since he stopped playing tennis and could not carry his job at the national information technology office. In the U.S. he is a club player. In 2003 he won the championship of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
and
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
(
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
) and fifth place in the Nationals (
Scottsdale, AZ) in super senior category, team doubles (he used to play double No. 1 with Ken Donner). In the 1990s–2000s he won three times the Irish Open Tournament (regional) in doubles. Now he plays No. 3, when he was just a runner up of Michigan in 2011. He plays at West Hill Athletic Club in
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
. Needless to say that in his tennis city there are
boys nationals, organized for the last 70 years.
Selected works
Information technology
Books
* ''Informatyka klucz do dobrobytu'', (''Informatics a Key to Prosperity'').(1971). Warsaw: PIW, – Polish bestseller.
* ''Organizacja ośrodków obliczeniowych'', (''Organization of Computer Centers''). (1971). Warsaw: PWŁ.
* ''Informatyka modele rozwoju i systemów'', (''Informatics, Models of Development & Systems''). (1980). Warsaw: PWE.
* ''The Architecture and Planning of Enterprise-wide Information Management Systems, Map of the Enterprise''. (1990). Harrisburg, PA.: Idea Group Publishing. .
* ''Strategia i architektura systemów informatycznych przedsiębiorstwa w gospodarce rynkowej'', (Strategy and Architecture of Information Systems in a Market Economy). (1992). Warszawa: Nowe Wydawnictwo Polskie. .
* ''GII: Global Information Infrastructure''. (1996). Harrisburg, PA.: Information Science Publishing. .
* ''Enterprise Information Infrastructure''. (1999). New York: Simon & Schuster,
* ''Informatyka bez złudzeń – wspomnienia'', (''Informatics without Illusions. Memoirs''). (2001). Toruń, Poland: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszalek, .
* ''Electronic Enterprise, Strategy and Architecture''. (2003). Harrisburg, PA. & London: IRM Press, .
* A. Targowski & T. Rienzo. (2002). ''Enterprise Information Infrastructure'', Kalamazoo, MI.: Paradox Associates, .
* A. Targowski & T. Rienzo. (2004). ''Enterprise Information Infrastructure'', Kalamazoo, MI.: Paradox Associates, .
* A. Targowski & M. Tarn. (2006). ''Enterprise Systems Education in the 21st Century''. Harrisburg, PA.: Information Science Publishing, .
* A.Targowski (2013).''Historia, Terazniejszość, Przyszlość INFORMATYKI'' (''History, Present, Future of INFORMATICS''). Łòdź: WYDAWNICTWO POLITECHNIKI ŁÒDZKIEJ, .
* A. Targowski (2014). ''The Deadly Effect of Informatics on the Holocaust.'' Mustang, Oklahoma: Tate Publishing, .
* A.Targowski (2016). ''The History, Present State, and Future of Information Technology.'' Santa Rosa, California: Informing Science Press, .
* A.Targowski (2016). ''Informing and Civilization.'' Santa Rosa, California: Informing Science Press, .
Book chapters
*Targowski, A. and A. Metwalli. (2002). "The Framework for Cross-culture Communication Process Efficiency and Cost in the Global Economy." In ed. E. Szewczak and C. Snodgrass. ''Managing the Human Side of Information Technology: Challenges and Solutions'', Harrisburg, PA: Idea Group Publishing. .
*Targowski, A. (2002). "The Information Laws." In D. White, Ed.''Knowledge Mapping & Management''. Harrisburg, PA: IRM Press. .
*Targowski, A. (2003). "Info-Mathics-The Mathematical Modeling of Information." In L.Favre, Ed. ''UML and the Unified Process.'' Harrisburg, PA: IRM Press. .
*Targowski, A. (2005). "The Taxonomy of Information Societies." In Yi-chen Lan, ED. ''Global Information Society''. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing. .
*Targowski, A. (2007). "The genesis, Political, and Economic Side of the Internet." In L. Tomei, Ed. ''Integrating Information & Communications Technologies into the Classroom''. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. .
*Targowski, A. (2008). "The genesis, Political, and Economic Side of the Internet." In Van Slyke, Craig, Ed. ''Information Communication Technologies: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications''. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
*Targowski, A. (2009). “The Evolution From Data To Wisdom In Decision-Making at the Level of Real and Virtual Networks. In C. Camission et al. Eds. ''Connectivity and Knowledge Management in Virtual Organizations: Networking and Developing Interactive Communications''. Hershey, PA & London: IGI. .
*Targowski. A. (2010). "The Enterprise System Approach." In M.M. Cruz-Cunha, Ed. ''Social, Managerial, and Organizational Dimensions of Enterprise Information Systems''. Hershey & New York: Business Science Reference. .
*Targowski, A. (2011). "A Role of Social Networking in Civilizational Development, Towards Better Communication and Reasoning in Global Virtual Nation and Virtual Nation." In M.M. Cruz-Cunha & G. Putnik. Eds. ''Business Social Networking: Organizational, Managerial, and Technological Dimensions''. Hershey & New York: Business Science Reference.
Civilization
* Targowski, A. (2009).''Information Technology and Societal Development'', Hershey, PA & New York, Information Science Reference, .
*Targowski, A. & T. Rienzo. Eds. (2010). ''Newspapers in Crisis''. Kalamazoo, MI: Civilization Press. .
*Targowski, A. (2012). Ewolucja techniki i związane z nią nadzieje w społeczeństwie XXI wieku – podejście cywilizacyjne. (Evolution of Technique and Associated with It Expectations in the Society of the 21st Century, the Civilization Approach). In Zacher, L. Ed. ''Nauka, Technika, Społeczeństwo''. (''Science, Technique, and Society''). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo poltex. .
* Targowski, A & Marek J. Celinski. Eds. (2013). ''Spirituality and Civilization Sustainability in the 21st Century.'' Nova Science Publishers, 2013, .
* Targowski, A. (2014). ''Global Civilization in the 21st Century.'' Nova Science Publishers, 2014, .
* Targowski, A & B. Han. Eds. (2014). ''Chinese Civilization in the 21st Century.'' Nova Science Publishers, 2014, .
* Targowski, A. (2015). ''Virtual Civilization in the 21st Century.'' Nova Science Publishers, .
* Targowski, A. (2015). ''The Limits of Civilization.'' Nova Science Publishers, .
* Isaac, T. & A. Targowski. Eds. (2015). ''African Civilization in the 21st Century.'' Nova Science Publishers, .
* Targowski, A. (2015). ''Western Civilization in the 21st Century.'' NOVA Science Publishers, .
* Targowski, A & Abe, J & Kato, H. Eds. (2016). ''Japanese Civilization in the 21st Century.''NOVA Science Publishers, , .
Wisdom
* ''Cognitive Informatics and Wisdom Development'', Hershey, PA. & New York, Information Science Reference, 2011,
*''WISDOM''. Kalamazoo, MI.: Civilization Press, .
* ''
Harnessing the Power of Wisdom'', New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2013, .
* ''Il potere della saggezza'', Amazon Kindle edition, 2016. ASIN: B01LZA7GXD.
Health care
*A.Targowski & G. Ruoff. Eds. (2010).''Health Care, Crisis and Hope''. Kalamazoo, MI.: Civilization Press, .
Psychology
*Targowski, A. (2010). "Wisdom, Awareness of Life's Purpose, and Happiness as Means of Resilience and Resourcefulness of Human System: The Cognitive Informatics Approach.” In Eds. M Celinski and K. Gove. ''Continuity versus Creative Response to Challenge; the Primacy of Resilience and Resourcefulness in Life and Therapy''. Hauppauge, NY: NOVA SCIENCE PUBLISHERS, INC. .
Politics
* ''Red Fasicm, Lawrenceville'', (1982). Lawrenceville,VA: Brunshwick Publishing Co.,
* ''Chwilowy koniec historii'', (''Temporary End of History''). (1991). Warszawa: Nowe Polskie Wydawnictwo, .
* ''Dogoniċ czas'', (''In the Pursuit of Time''). (1993). Warszawa: Bellona, 1993, .
* ''Obrona Polski, dziś i jutro'', (''Defense of Poland, Today & Tomorrow''). (1993). Warsaw: Bellona, – Editor.
* ''Wizja Polski'', (''Vision of Poland''). (1995, 1997). Warsaw: Cinderella Books, , 2000 – Editor.
* ''Losy Polski i Ŝwiata'', (''The Faith of Poland and the World''). (2000). Warsaw: Bellona, 2000, – Editor.
* ''Obserwacje z USA'', (Observations from America). (2003). Warsaw: Cinderella Books,
* ''Spojrzenie z USA na Polskę, świat i nie tylko (cz. 1)'', (''A Look upon Poland, the World and Beyond''). (2009). Warsaw: Biblioteka Nowego Kuriera, .
* ''Spojrzenie z USA na Polskę, świat i nie tylko (cz. 2)'', (''A Look upon Poland, the World and Beyond''). (2009). Warsaw: Biblioteka Nowego Kuriera, .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Targowski, Andrew
American technology writers
1937 births
Polish male writers
Polish emigrants to the United States
Polish computer scientists
American computer scientists
Living people
Polish engineers
20th-century American engineers
Writers from Warsaw