In 60's, the interdiciplinary studies on the self-organizing systems had their focus on the organization and maintenance of the systems. In 70's and 80's, the studies focused on the phase-transition of systems. Although the focuses of the studies have such variation, the essential frame of the theory is inherited. No part of the principles on the self-organizing system is wholly mysterious. Some systems are able to organize and change their own system-structures through the interaction with their environment; they are self-organizing systems. In the each of physical, chemical and biological models, the time-scales of chages in the system and in the environment have a rather same scale. In the case of the human society, its system emvironment is the nature. The time-scale of evolution in the nature exhibits a very slow tempo, and the time-scale of change in the society exhibits a very fast tempo, as Prigogine pointed. In the case of the human society, the human beings make and use the technology at the interface of the society and its emvironment=nature. The change in technology has a fast tempo in comparison to the slow change in the nature. The human society developes itself through the interaction between social structures and technology which is produced by the human society. The human society produces the factor to change the human society itself at the interface of the society and its evironment. The human society should be called the self-changing system as the special case of the self-organizing system.

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Recently theoretical considerations of the characteristics of social system are highly developed. But, still there are a little evidence.Therefore, on this short essay, I will try to generalize the evidences the relationships between social structure, especially social stratification, and personality. The idea of societal community is used for the focuses of social system. We found that the axis of self-direction and conformity is the most universal aspect of cultural environment. Self-direction of individual is strongly related with his intellectual flexibility, and negatively related with the authoritarianism=conservatism. We can't say that which nation is more self-direction, or also more conformity. But, we found that the social stratification has the strongest effects on the self-direction, authoritarianism=conservatism, and distress. The most important evidence is that the complexity of environment has the positive effect on the intellectual flexibility and self-direction.The more complex become the environment, the more people become self-direction. From this empirical consideration, we found that most important characteristic of empirical social system is the Merton's sense of structural constraints.

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Kornai Janos formulated a model of economic systems as a network of automata, each of which is an organization such as households and sections of enterprises.Each orgnization can be devided into two sud-automata:the real unit and the control unit. The real units are connected with each others by flows of economic goods and make a network called real domain.The control units, on the other hand, form a network called control domain connected by flows of information.After the introduction of Kornai's systems theory, I discuss a few characteristics which differenciate the automata theory from the general equilibrium theory.Asymmetry of transactions is partly explained by the fact that a network of automata can function as an automaton only when common decisions of variables are excluded.The importance of autonomous functions is emphasised in economic systems in comparison to the higher functions.Then, I discuss to which domain the money should belong.Kornai supposed implicitly that money flows are information exchanged in the control domain.I propose to relocate the money and its flows into the real domain. This makes it simpler to interprete them and allows to analyse how the monetary control works.Division between real and control domains is an usefull distinction but it is not categorical. Variables in the real domain can play an informational role which is sometimes more usefull and reliable than information flows in the control domain.In the range of higher functions, this kind of role exchage happens as the experience of Toyota productionsystem and that of Material Requirements Planning system show.

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The so-called New World Order can be interpreted as a spontaneously emerging world system in the prriod of transition from modern civilization to post-modern civilization.This new world order is comprised of two problem-axes: the New East-West Problem and the New North-South Problem. The former refers to the relationship between Euro-American and East-Asian branches of modern civilization and its task is successfully and peacefully to achieve "informatization"of modern civilization through "co-emulation" of the two branches so that the stage for formation of a new universal civilization is meaningfully set. The latter refers to the relationship between the modern and industrialized North and the pre-modern South who had to realize the impossibility of modernization. The only alternatives left for them is either to return to the fundamentalism endorsing the principles of pre-modern civilization or to look for a new set of integrating and symbiotic principles of civilization.As a matter of principle, it should be possible for the North and the South to cooperate in their endeavor to build a new civilization. But, in reality, the more likely mutual relationship, as far as the forseeable future is concerned, is that of mutual confrontation, with containment of the South by North or with minimun commitment by the North to alleviate the predicament the South is bound to face.

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The communist experiment in the 20th century was one of most important experiences in the domain of social sciences.It started from a very high humanistic idea and ended with a complete failure.In order to avoid repeating the same disastrous enterprise, we have to learn from this failure seriously.It is evident that the founders of the communism committed grave errors.Marx and his followers thougth that they can easily control the whole economy once they seize the state power.There were two errors in this believe.The economy was not as simple as they thought it to be.Organization such as the State was not as omnipotent as they understood it to be.The lesson to learn from the communist failure is that the society is much more complex than we normally suppose it to be.In the buisness of changing the society, a good intention was often rewarded with some serious side effects.After such a painfull experieence as the communist experiment, it is normal that people want to abandon the idea of a new society, which is designed by some rationalist caluculations.But, is it right for the social scientists to abandon themselves to the conservative defeatism, which denies any possibility of social improvement by human design?The communist failure originates in the attempt to change everything at once without questioning if it is possible at all. There are many customs and institutions which can be successfully changed for the benefit of the majority of people.What we should know is the science to distinguish what is possible to change and what is impossible to change.This is the very wisdom Reinhold Niebuhr wanted have in one of his famous prayers.This must also be the problem that social scientists should attack, if they want to contribute to a better society.

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The main purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between the logic of social system and the realities of "guality of life". The content of this discussion is follows.First, we construct the way of thought concerning the "quality of life"by the theory of needs and wants.In this context, the concepts of minds or sprits are desired.Second, the concept of "quality of life "is extended from life experiences. And the relationship between daily and non-daily phenomena in these life experiences is clarified. Third, the ways of symbiosis and sympathy are defined from the rhythms and fluctuations in the soial system.Perhaps it is necessary for us to consider the surface and the depth (unconscious areas)of social system.The depth is related to the non-daily phenomena such as violence, madness and play. In this way, we integrate these concepts of daily and non-daily life from the viewpoint of" quality of life".Fourth, it is important for us to construct the society which orients the "quality of life".In this section we discuss on the "quality of life"both of the handicapped and the non-handicapped concretely, and show an ideal vision of the "quality of life".

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We are concerned with the reconstruction of a social system and the significance of social movements towards a symbiotic social system.In our modern sytematized society, individuals are not only forced to/oblized to commit the social system, but also try to commit it positively.By such commitment, individuals are dicomposed into different functions of the system and come to act as "subjects"of the system.As a result, 1)they can stabilize their social identity, and 2)the social system is reproduced self-organizingly. Then how do we reconstruct the system?What alternative systems can we propose?We insist that the stategic perspective to be proposed is Symbiosis Princible=<Heterogenization-Receptivity-Symbiotization>. We show the following three basic strategies. 1)Minor use of the soical discourse and the code of Power:movements of "Nomads"(flight-deterritorialization)and symbiotization. 2)Self-reflection and self-differentiation through dialogues:the logic of dialogue consisting of mutual interaction, reflection, and self-differenciation. 3)Networking:symbiotic combination of differences and networking them. Today's social movements consist of local and minor networks of individuals and groups submerged in everyday life.They try to differentiate the monologic administrations of the social system.They are more concerned with deterritorialization and reconstruction processes.A.Melucci(1989)says that present social movements are pre-political because they are rooted in everyday life experiences, and meta-political because poltical factors can never represent them completely.

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This report concerns a study on the method for solving the serious problem of waste management faced by today's urban society. At the beginning, the metabolism of material consumption by human society is analysed in historical order and defined into five development stages: (1)the stage of natural eclogical cycle; (2)the stage of ecological production cycle; (3)the stage of a cycle of production in farms and consumption in towns; (4)the stae of a cycle of industrial production, consumption and disposal;and (5)the stage where development of artificial material cycle system is need. The report points out that although up the 4th stage the metabolism of human society could depend on the natural eco-system, in the 5th stage it is no longer possible and is now at its turning point. The author then discusses the concept of social eco-system composed of such sud-systems as market system, community system, governmental system, citizen's activity system, and regulation and monitoring system, and proposes a method for controlling it. As practical examples of this method, the report makes analytical assessment of the development procedure of the Suita city project in Japan and the Kommunekemi system in Denmark, then based on this study, suggests concrete method for restructuring the conventional waste management system into a social eco-system.

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"Socion"is our term for a transmitting unit("person")of social network named after neuron.Each socion outputs internal stste ("attiude")through information channels weighted selectively by the other coupled socions.The internal state of a given socion is determined by the integration of weighted inputs from the other socions, which we call "selective heteronomy" "Socios", a network of socions' tends to evolve some emergent social order througeh the system dynamics of channel-weights adjusting process, mediated by the learning behavior of individual socions.Our aim is to describe and explain this self-organizing dynamics of social network system, through computor simulation, as well as thought experiment. Socion theory might provide a new theoretical paradigm for communication study, group dynamics and sociology in general.

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This paper treats new concepts for multi-person cooperative games.The key point of the treatment is introduction of the discontent for each player.The new concepts nucleus and maximal set correspond to nucleolus and stable set respectively.

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A production-supply system on society level consists of an administrative system and a domination system.Firms in an industrial domain and a government office that supervises them carry the administrative system. The domination system includes the administrative system and its interested parties, for example, residents around firms. Today, production-supply systems on society level produce many environmetal problems through the mechanism of social dilemma, that is, the "paradox of ratioality"concerning collective goods. Shortterm rational action of administrative system have long-term accumulative effects which destroy the environment and cause subordination problem in domination system.As the case of automobile exhaust control problem shows, in order to avoid the paradox of rationality, an adequate social norm must define constraints for the actors in the production-supply system on society level.Namely, social norm control system must take an active hand in the operation of production-supply system.Though, as the cases of nuclear power plants and of the nulear fuel cycle plant show, such intervention become difficult and even impossible when actors in the production-supply system on society level have too strong economical and political power.we must seek adequate constraints that enable the "harmony of rationality"between such system and the society.

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We have mainly disscussed political ways that we shoud cope with global environmental problems.But it is difficult to agree to one plan among many countries.There are an alternative one for these problems. It is the way that each individual changes his way of Iife and then these changes overspread and finally force all members of society to change their norm of behavior and behavior itself.This way is less powerfull than political ones, but we don't deny the usefullness of this way. So, we intend to investigate the possibility and feasibility of this way through studying various examples of system's changes in regional level.This approach suggests the possibility of restructuring total social system through environmental sysrtem's changes.

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When it comes to the problem betweem systems and environment, and the issues regarding change and reformation of systems, there are several essential perspectives to be considered, although they are neglected in many arguments.These points are as follows : 1.The content and direction of an argument differs depending on the range and level of the system concerned.In spite of this, many argyments are lacking in determination of the range and level of systems.Various conclusions for each argument might be dllived from differences in this determination.One must clarify the range of systems in order to compare an argument to others. 2.The structures of both systems and environment are not homogeneous. There are various subsystems within the structure, and also dynamism that each subsystem moves toward its own respective goal.Therefore, one must conduct thorough research through proof on correlation among different subsystems within the system concerned, on mutuality among different systems which compose the environment, and complicated interdependence among a system itself or its subsystems and systems composing the environment. 3.Regarding arguments on the change and reformation of systems, one should show the process of change or reformation when one points out the problems in existing systems and suggests an alternative system. In such a case, one should conduct cost-benefit analysis.In the cost-benefit analysis, one's perspective must be on the individual level, concerning how cost or benefit is distributed among individuals, as well as on the aggregate level, as in an entire society.

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Almost all social science models firm as devices of production.But in post modern affruent society, 'goods'are not good for evry human being because of exhaution of CO_2 and entropie that involves the production unavoidably.Production is neccecity evil in our society. So firms must not be evaluated for its productivities but for its neccecities of the goods that the firm produce.Social and Economic systems thory must develop a new theoretical area that evaluate production and products systematicaly.

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Recently we can easily recognize that reforms of socieconomic systems are going on all over the world, for various reasons such as the collapse of socialist systems, the changes of socioeconomic circumstances and so on. The fundamental reason seems to be that people in every region have been seeking a way to restore their cultural and historical identities. Over the past three decades, the energy revolution has been forcing tha coal mining districts in Hokkaido to revitalize their own local economies, and the regional socioeconomic systems have been expected to be reorganized toward the symbiosis of the natural and social environment. So the regional socioeconomic reforms should be carried out with indigenous or original ideas that arise from the regional institutions, rather than the central government.Accordingly a regional think tank institution ought to be set up as a regional research and planning center. Seeking socioeconomic systems with symbiotic environments, we made a conceptual plan for the redevelopment of Nishi-Ashibetu, a former coal mining town.The redevelopment plan toward a symbiotic environment consists of a meeting zone for friendship among residents, a workship zone for business interchange, a sports zone with playing grounds and arena, and streets with a green belt connecting the three zones. The idea was presented by computer graphics that were enthusiasically received by the persons concerned. In paralled with the regional socioeconomic system reforms , some reforms of administrative organizations are also needed to enable different departments to coordinate in problems solving.

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This is a study of the influence of the Children's International Summer Village's(C.I.S.V.)eleven-yer old international camp on its participants. Japanese participants to the C.I.S.Vcamps in 1988-1991 were surveyed with open-and closed-ended questionnaires.Fred Emery's four types of systems environment, and several cross-cultural communications literature were reviewed. Since this was the trial period of this international standardized C.I.S.V.survey in Japan, hypothesis-generation, rather than hypothesis-testing was the aim of this study. Raised hypotheses for the post-camp survey, compared to the pre-camp survey are: 1.C.I.S.V.participants become less abstract and more concrete in evaluating their abilities to understand people from other countries.2.C.I.S.V. participans will be more eager to work as a group. 3a.In a C.I.S.V.camp, Japanese participants will find that they do not communicate with foreigners as much as they wished beforehand. 3b.Hence, Japanese participants place more emphasjs on learning foreign languages than before. 4.For questions concerning international understanding, participants will be more likely to agree with each other after the camp than before, hence, their replies will show a smaller standard deviation. 5.Japanese education places more emphasis on answering multiple-choice questions for college entrance examinations than on developing critical thinking and general education in international affairs.Hence, for questions requiring knowledge of major international issues such as human rights, eclogy, and international relations, the Japanese participants tend to have a larger percentage of "Don't know"replies than the international average of this survey.

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This paper discusses the relation of the vocational education for workers and social systems, and the author argues that this education may reform a social system. Fordism, which has promoted the mechanization of the way of production in the fixedly-divided work organization among workers, supervisors, and technicians, has taken no notice of the vocational education for workers. Yet the crisis of Fordish work organization has emerged as a result of the changing market structures and the resistance of workers during 1970s. Work-force versatility of workers by vocational education is foud in both Toyotism in Japan and Volvosism in Sweden. Yet there is a crucial difference in the level of compromise in the industrial relation. In Toyotism the trainers are large enterprises. Because most compromises which rested on company agreements are found in large enterprises. Therefore, these trainings for workers are inadeqate to the reform of a social system. In Volvoism as social democratic corporatism the trainers are the state and the enterprise.And trade unions influence them. Because negotiated involvement and compromise are accomplished on a social basis.In Kalmarism, one of the two kinds of Volvoism, the state educates workers for the progress of their vocational competence. In Uddevallism, the other kind of Volvoism, the enterprise does them.There is a possibility that these educations may bring about the reform of a social system.

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Indicated the ideal way of our country's future direction by comparison of good points and improvable points of the medical service delivery system in Japan and Canada through: (a)geographic accessibility (b)economic accessibility, (c)flexibility in improvement of the medical service delivery system, (d)quality assurance, (e)and CQI(continuous quality improvement).

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We analyzed an improvenent of energy efficiency in Japan between 1971(just before the first energy crisis)and 1988. Doubtlessly, we may conclude that the energy saving in manufacturing as a whole is successful. In heavy-chemical industries, energy efficiency keeps a high level even after the end of the second energy crisis. In light industries, in contrast, the oil price crash caused a gradual fall in energy efficiency.Therefore we can conclude that Japanese energy saving has two aspects, namely(1)in heavy-chemical industries, the energy saving is a matter of technology and is established, and(2)in light industries, energy saving has a feature of movement.For the purpose of modernization of developing countries, we have to consider not only direct aid to them, but also indirect one which includes the transfer of energy saving technologies to the countries which have already developed heavy-chemical industries.

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After its first foundation in 1987 cable TV facilities in Japan are increasing rapidly.Recently in three months, its total number has almost doubled from 134 at the end of march 1992 to 251.In spite of such a rapid development, it seems, there exist, even among facility-undertakers, some misunderstanding and some cinfusion as to the significance of cable TV, which prevent the full realization of its potentiality.points at issue are, (1)cable TV is often confused with CATV(Community Antenna Television), and' (2)cable TV is often misunderstood as another television.Owing to its iteractive and multichannel charactors cable TV can provide new services other than broadcasting, such as security service, telemetering, data transmittion, regional telephone and facsimile servce, home shopping, etc., and , in this paper, examples of these new services actually pffered in Japan are presented.What the author emphasizes are, (a)these new sevices qualify cable TV as new integrative regional communication infrastructure, and (b) full understanding of this fact is indispensable for its actualization.

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