Prof Mike Yearworth

@mikeyearworth

Problem Structuring · Problem Formulation · Soft Systems Methodology · Practice of Operational Research · Process Thinking · Facilitation · Group Support Systems · Co-Editor-in-Chief European Journal of Operational Research · CEng

1.365 Folgt1.125 Follower1.315 Posts

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Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· 26d

This is what I remember from my PhD, library shelves full of SCI commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ci...

Library shelves of Science Citation Index SCI

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· 28d

Met Office State of the UK Climate Report 2025 rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· 28d

National Risk Register - 2026 Edition assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a50d6...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jul 9

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0e...

Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten UK national security and prosperity. The world is already experiencing
impacts including crop failures, intensified natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks. Threats will increase with degradation
and intensify with collapse. Without major intervention to reverse the current trend, this is highly likely to continue to
2050 and beyond.
High
2. Cascading risks of ecosystem degradation are likely to include geopolitical instability, economic insecurity, conflict, migration
and increased inter-state competition for resources. Moderate
3.
Critical ecosystems that support major global food production areas and impact global climate, water and weather cycles are
the most important for UK national security. Severe degradation or collapse of these would highly likely result in water insecurity,
severely reduced crop yields, a global reduction in arable land, fisheries collapse, changes to global weather patterns, release of
trapped carbon exacerbating climate change, novel zoonotic diseases and loss of pharmaceutical resources. The Amazon rainforest,
Congo rainforest, boreal forests, the Himalayas and South East Asia’s coral reefs and mangroves are particularly significant for the UK.
High
4.
Ecosystem degradation is occurring across all regions. Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse (irreversible loss of
function beyond repair).
High
5.
There is a realistic possibility that some ecosystems (such as coral reefs in South East Asia and boreal forests) start to
collapse from 2030, and others (rainforests and mangroves) start to collapse from 2050.
Low
6.
All countries are exposed to the risks of ecosystem collapse within and beyond their borders. Some will be exposed sooner than
others and are likely to act to secure their interests, particularly water and food security.
Moderate
7.
Without significant increases in UK food system and supply chain resilience, it is unlikely the UK would be able to mainta…

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jul 7

Post by Historic England on Instagram of the Oxford Inn in London in 1875 and 3 years before demolition. What’s interesting are the brise-soleil like structures that seem to be shielding windows from sunlight. Was this common in 19th Century and earlier buildings? www.instagram.com/p/DaexeV9jhl...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jul 5

Afternoon spent looking round the local Oldland Windmill. Fully restored and working post windmill. Some great examples of early feedback control to regulate milling speed. Live monitoring of operation online at www.smartmolen.com/oldland

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jul 1

Further #brexit benefit landed today..

Hi there,

We want to give you a heads up about some important changes to EU shipping coming into effect on 1st July 2026 — and let you know that we’re here to help you navigate them.
What's Changing
From 1st July 2026, the EU is ending its duty-free threshold for low-value parcels. Here’s what that means in practice:
A €3 customs duty will apply to all parcels €150 or less entering the EU.

Charged per item type — not per parcel. A mixed-product order with 3 item types carries €9 in duty.

IOSS remains in place for VAT collection, but customs duties are now managed separately.

The duty is non-refundable.

Further changes expected November 2026, including potential additional handling fees.
What's worth reviewing now

Your customs data — ensure shipments include accurate commodity codes and declarations, as these are required for compliance from July onwards.
Here if you need us

These changes affect businesses of all sizes shipping into the EU, and we know it can feel like a lot to navigate. If you have any questions about how the new rules apply to your orders, or want to talk through your options, our team is on hand to help just get in touch.

Warm regards,

The Post Office Team

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 28

End of a broadcasting era. Radio 4 #bbcradio4 no longer available on Long Wave at 198kHz. Transmitter is still up but looks like RTS is now off, and transmitter shutdown on the 30th June according to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droitwi...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 26

One of those sorts of days…

Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt Oblique Strategy card saying “Just carry on”

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 23

This has got to be the most stupid change in business plan due to Brexit I have ever heard, apart from just going out of business www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

He said his company was carrying 45% less cargo than before, which Wells attributed to small businesses not exporting to the EU.

"It really demonstrates how dependent we were on the European trade routes, which now can't be exploited because of the additional costs and the general reluctancy of traders to [get] involved," Wells told the BBC.

But he said he had compensated for this lost revenue by making a secondary business out of doing the customs clearances for others.

"The financial result is about equal to what we were earning previously," he added.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 16

I have had some thoughts on the Engineering Curriculum… onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Current perspectives on approaches to problem structuring in operational research and engineering and prospects for problem structuring methods applicable to a wide range of practice.

Despite the myriad successes of Operational Research (OR) in government and industry, critique of its continued relevance to complex, wicked problems led to the emergence and evolution of Soft OR as a more humanist orientation of the discipline centred on a methodological framing of techniques known as Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs). These have enabled OR practitioners to broaden the scope of OR to address complex problem contexts that require transforming, planning and strategising interventions for their clients. The original core PSMs of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) and the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) are presented using a new analytical framework based on constitutive rules, epistemologies, and affordances of the modelling approach. Practical considerations in PSM based interventions are discussed emphasising trust-building, stakeholder identification, facilitation and ethical practice. A wide range of PSM applications are surveyed demonstrating clear intersections with communities of practice grounded in the applied social sciences. The development of a new PSM based on Hierarchical Process Modelling (HPM) of purpose arising from a processual turn in engineering practice offers additional insights for the practice of Soft OR. New developments in PSM practice built on use of Group Support Systems (GSS) and exploiting developments in machine learning are presented. Prospects for bringing the Soft OR project back into better alignment with mainstream OR are discussed in the context of new education programs and a possible processual turn in OR.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 14

www.railforums.co.uk/threads/majo...

Southern says:
Urgent repairs are needed to a bridge at Purley, resulting in all lines at this station being closed.

Trains are currently unable to run to / from or through this station, and will be cancelled or revised.

You are advised not to travel.

Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 14

www.opentraintimes.com/maps/signall...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 10

Legally, companies are “persons”. But AI companies might make decisions with no people. How and to whom would an AI programme be responsible? Criminal chief executives can go to prison. What is the equivalent for AI? As the Pope says, AI is a “tool”. It is not a person. Does it suffer? Does it bleed? Can it bear moral responsibility? Can it be accountable in any meaningful way? No. Moreover, this question of responsibility is not limited to business. Who is accountable for war crimes once AI directs robot armies?

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 9

OPINION In the time zone of the keynote, it's dystopia o'clock. These days, it always is. The fervent CEO prophet strolls around an empty stage, backlit by a giant altar of light on which they display their magic and impart visions of a future that address none of our fears, choosing instead to add to them. The format has as little variation as a church service, the whoops and cheers of the faithful as predictable as psalms. There are no industry awards for keynotes, even the most brazen hype machines can't go that far. Perhaps there should be.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jun 1

My response to most things going on at the moment that have an impact on Universities and research and scientific publishing and scholarship in general…

“The man knew everything, apparently because he had a lot of money.”

Le Guin, Ursula K.. The Dispossessed

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· May 27

“2024 global temperature record is consistent with model-predicted warming” doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Significance

A number of recent articles and commentaries have argued that the record global temperatures of 2023–2024 cannot be explained by standard climate model simulations and infer that we are witnessing an unexpected surge in planetary warming. Using a semiempirical methodology that combines information from surface temperature observations and state-of-the-art multimodel climate simulations, we demonstrate that the recent global surface temperature spike is entirely consistent with expectations from the combined effects of model-predicted long-term warming and routine natural climate variability. Record warmth is found to have been extremely unlikely in the absence of human-caused warming.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· May 26

Science Museum in London. There’s a model of the Phillips machine in Vensim somewhere… a model of a model

Picture of the Phillips machine in the Science Museum, London

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· May 26

This is well written and worth saving… www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

104. From this follows a simple but compelling consequence: we cannot consider AI to be morally neutral. In reality, every technical tool embodies choices and priorities through what it measures, ignores and optimizes, and how it classifies people and situations. If a system is designed or used in a way that treats some lives as less worthy, or excludes them without the possibility of appeal, then it is not merely a tool “to be used well,” since it has already introduced criteria that contradict the inalienable dignity of the human person. For this reason, ethical discernment cannot be limited to asking whether we are using a system for good or bad purposes; it must also examine how that system is designed and what vision of the human person and society is embedded in the data and models that guide it.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· May 1

Every time I open this old Bush radio I see the complete merger of two design drivers — battery powered and transistors but built around a rigid metal chassis left over from using valves. Sounds great and Radio 4 still blasting out Long Wave. How much longer?

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Apr 1

I thought this was an April Fool’s joke but seems to be the genuine Microsoft ‘Terms of Use’ for Copilot. Many thanks to @lifewinning.com for finding this. www.microsoft.com/en-us/micros...

Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.
WITHOUT LIMITING SECTION 12 OF THE MICROSOFT SERVICES AGREEMENT IN ANY WAY, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF CLARITY, WE DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND ABOUT COPILOT. For example, we can’t promise that any Copilot’s Responses won’t infringe someone else’s rights (like their copyrights, trademarks, or rights of privacy) or defame them. You are solely responsible if you choose to publish or share Copilot’s Responses publicly or with any other person.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Mar 21

Ngwenyama, O., Klein, S., & Rowe, F. (2026). Platform capture of scientific knowledge production: publishers’ dominance, generative AI and Subsumption of academic labor. European Journal of Information Systems, 1–24. doi.org/10.1080/0960...

ABSTRACT
Academic publishing is dominated by a small group of publishers whose platformization
practices are threatening academic institutions and their values. These publishers deploy
digital research and publishing platform infrastructures (DRPIs) to capture and transform
scientific knowledge production in their private interest. This paper aims at analyzing this
shift in the political economy of knowledge production and scholarly communication from
expanding use of DRPIs. Using Marx’s theory of subsumption, we empirically analyze the case
of Elsevier and its DRPI to theorize platform capture of scientific knowledge production. We
find that DRPIs, recently reinforced by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), enable academic
publishers to advance from real subsumption to general intellect subsumption, progressively
sidelining academics in scientific knowledge production. Through regimes of
marketization, appropriation and exploitation, the leading academic publishers impose structural
dominance on academics to appropriate their labor, data and intellectual property rights.
Despite the Open Science movement, DRPIs enable the private capture of societal wealth at the
expense of epistemic communities and societal good. Without strong collective action, we will
not be able to envision DRPIs that fit with academic values, nor will we be able to combat the
negative outcomes of advancing platform capture on the institution of science.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Mar 17

“The measurement of asset management performance of water companies” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This study explores asset management performance of Portuguese water supply companies operating in the bulk market. The focus of the analysis are the managerial practices and the condition of infrastructures. This assessment is based on the information conveyed by the indicators collected by the Portuguese water and waste services’ regulator authority (ERSAR) between 2016 and 2020. The main contribution of this research is to propose innovative methods to enhance the knowledge on asset management practices in the water sector. Two Benefit-of-the-Doubt (BoD) Composite Indicators are developed to highlight different aspects of asset management approaches. The first reflects organisations’ performance in maintaining their infrastructures at acceptable operational levels, and the other reveals their maturity in asset management practices. Robust and conditional approaches for estimating the BoD indicators are applied, allowing to obtain results that account for the effect of contextual variables on companies’ performance. Additionally, the performance of the companies is analysed over a 5-year period. The results show that there is significant room for improvement given the indicators’ values estimated in the benchmarking analysis. The type of management systems and areas of intervention (urban, semi-urban or rural) are factors that present significant impact in asset management performance. The analysis of trends in the evolution of performance over time revealed improvements both in the companies’ managerial practices and operational results.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Mar 12

“For treasuries, regulators, advisory agencies, and institutional investors, this report converges on a single conclusion: climate change introduces forms of risk that exceed the design assumptions of existing economic and financial frameworks.” greenfuturessolutions.com/wp-content/u...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Feb 20

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...

Abstract
I present a short argument for the enlargement of the theoretical foundations
of Systems Engineering beyond Systems Science/General Systems Theory.
K E Y W O R D S
foundations, methodology, practice, Systems Engineering, Systems Science, theory

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Feb 18

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects1. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk’s platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users’ feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X’s algorithm has persistent effects on users’ current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Feb 5

Reichert, G. W., Glöser-Chahoud, S., & Gröβler, A. (2026). Graph notation as a gateway—transitioning from causal loop to stock and flow diagrams (and beyond) in system dynamics modeling [Article]. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. doi.org/10.1080/1364...

ABSTRACT
This study addresses the gap between causal loop diagrams (CLDs)
and stock and flow diagrams (SFDs) in system dynamics modeling.
While the ambiguity of standard CLDs eases early stakeholder engagement, it hinders precise simulation model building in later stages. Building on prior link- and node-labeling approaches, we introduce CLD+, an enhanced yet intuitive notation that explicitly marks variable types, distinguishes material from information links, and treats delays/subsystems as first-class nodes. With these annotations, a CLD+ is structurally equivalent to an SFD: it can be transformed automatically into an SFD or quantified directly as a simulation model, making CLD+ not only a bridge but a full-fledged surrogate for SFDs. We discuss implications for tooling that supports round-trip conversion and ‘store-once-use-everywhere’ workflows, reducing transition costs and improving model reliability in practice and education.

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jan 25

Clearing out some old books and paperwork and found this gem!

Readings for the 1992 Benjamin Meaker Lecture on Neural Networks by Prof G. E. Hinton. May 1992 University of Bristol. Computer Science Department. LN-NN-92

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jan 24

Railway at Dawlish taking a hammering again. Line closed at the moment. “Pier washes away and railway sea wall crumbles in storm” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Prof Mike Yearworth@mikeyearworth· Jan 8

Does space weather too