Submitting your abstract, please, contribute by 1) answering, at least, one of the below questions and 2) making, at least another related question. All accepted abstracts along with the new questions will be shared with all authors whose abstracts has been accepted for presentation, before the last 5 days left to the conference What is NSR 2021? NSR 2021 would be based on relational thinking, in this specific case, it would be relating your research and/or research in your disciplinary, inter-, or trans-disciplinary field to your community and/or Society al large. In this context, it would be related to what research is for and/or what the research should be for, i.e., what is and/or should be the purpose of research in any disciplinary, inter- or trans-disciplinary field. What is, and/or should be the orientative North Star, in a specific intellectual field and/or in general. Consequently, you are invited to submit an abstract related to any of the following questions? You can address anyone(s) of them, or any other related to them, but always keeping in mind the topic of this special track, i.e., “North Star for Research”. 1. What is and/or should be the final purpose (the telos) of research in your field/or in general? 2. Why research, in your field, may achieve its present of potential purpose? 3. How research (in your field and/or in general) is being done now and/or how should be done? 4. In your specific case, what would be the short and the long term purpose of your research? How do you think you may achieve it? What would be the short and the long term of research in general? Authors of all accepted abstract will have access to the other accepted abstracts, so they can enhance their conference presentation referencing each other. The special Track NSR 2021 is: 1. Meta-research (research on research), 2. Second-Order Cybernetics* Research (SOC), which requires reflection on what is being observed and reflexion on the observing system, i.e., the research, what is researched and the relationships between them* 3. Researching the researcher as related to its research object, i.e., to observe the observer while observing the observed) and/or 4. Research-based reflections on what the final purpose of research is, and/or should be. * I.e., Researching the researcher as related to its research object, i.e., to observe the observer while observing the observed. SOC is based on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle And Niels Bohr’s Complementarity Principle. You may address the above question, or other related to them, at the local, national and/or global level. Topics, as questions that may be answered (Addressing the following issues is a necessary condition for the acceptance of any abstract) For many reasons we prefer to suggest questions to potential answers rather than words or phrases. The main reason is that, as affirmed in an abstract below, “according to Lonergan (who is considered by many intellectuals to be the finest philosophic thinker of the 20th century." Time, April 27, 1970, p. 10), making questions is the first step in our understanding. To think on the respective answers or, at least, to try to answer questions may generate insights which are necessary conditions to transforms our experience in understanding. Is it not time to enhance and/or deepen our understanding regarding the notion and the activities of Research? Is this not a priority for researchers?” These questions are based on the abstract annexed below, which represent what inspired and what is the purpose of this special track and corresponding publications: 1. Is ‘research’ a means or an end in itself? a. If it is a mean, what is the end, or the purpose for which research is a means? b. If it is an end-in itself, what would be its long term purpose, in general, or in a given disciplinary, inter-, or trans-disciplinary field. 2. Is it valid Dr. Teresa Langness’ suggestion as to the North Pole of research is 'Improving Life'?, then: a. How do you think this is being done on your research, academic, or professional field? b. How should it be done? 3. Should the purpose of research include an ethical dimension? Which kind of Ethics should have? a. What would be the researcher’s Deontological Ethics. i.e., the ethic related to duties? b. What would be the researcher’s Consequencialist Ethics, i.e., the ethics related to contribute to the common good? c. A systemic, potentially cybernetic, Ethics, based on a combination of the two above? d. Other ethical perspective. 4. How adequate us the Ethical Education of future researchers? If it can be improved, how? Should it be improved? 5. If it is valid the suggestion made by Dr. Teresa Langness’ as to the North Pole of research is 'Improving Life', then, the question she made in her conversational session are 100% valid for this special track, these are the following (we are making copy and paste of part of her abstract annexed below 6. a. What process have you pursued in your own work that helped you identify a North Star? Do you have models for shaping a career harnessed to a conviction that enhances life? Have setbacks altered your path or strengthened your resolve? b. Some of the greatest success stories of Nobel Prize winners have confirmed the value of centering research around a firm conviction but also seeing the question through the eyes of colleagues across the disciplines, who may apply the research differently to improve life even more effectively. Have you witnessed that process in your own work? c. Have you faced challenges that sent you on a research path far from your North Star? Have industry standards proven a springboard or a ceiling for your research? If so, how have you overcome the challenge? d. Have you seen a pattern between the timing of world events and your own personal and professional evolution? How does your research about improving life for others affect your own transformation and vice versa? e. Take one minute to think of a wish you have always had, such as the Esther Duflo’s wish to create a system to end poverty. In your presentation, ask the attendees of your session to raise their hands if they like to state their research area, and their North Star wish. As you listen to one another, think of the potential for overlapping ideals and ideas. Does someone else’s North Star align with yours? Could there be an area of joint research to create a Super Nova star? If so, send them your contact information and begin a collaboration. Then follow your North Star together. Your presentation and, consequently, your abstract should be addressing the above question, and/or making more related questions. This is a necessary condition for the acceptance of any abstract submitted to this special topic and, hence, for its presentation at the conference and options for following publications, with no charge for the authors. The main purpose of this special track is to generate reflections and reflections based on research-experience, regarding issues related to the general purpose of research. It is about self- reflection research, supported by Second Order Cybernetics which; in turn, is based on Heisenberg’s Uncertainty principle and Bohr’s Complementarity Principle. Purpose of NSR 2021 The Special Track on “North Star for Research” was inspired by Dr. Teresa Langness in her plenary keynote address at the IIIS March 2021 conference. A main purpose is to maximize the number of perspectives from different disciplinary, inter-, and trans-disciplinary fields (as well as from different national cultures and economies) “North Star for Research” is a trans-disciplinary topic that may require to be addressed by any intellectual discipline; including those in scientific, engineering, technological, philosophical, theological, humanistic, artistic, esthetic, etc. fields. It is an important topic with an increasing urgency to be addressed by as many disciplines as possible. This kind of multi-disciplinary forum for addressing trans-disciplinary topics is a main purpose of IIIS Conferences, especially because it is an effective way to foster interdisciplinary communication; which it is a necessary condition for inter-disciplinary research and education. The later are, in turn, necessary conditions for addressing specific and general real life problems, including, in local, national and global contexts. Members of the International Institute of Informatics and Systemic (IIIS) have volunteered along with a financial support provided by a start up publisher to make feasible the waiving of the registration fee for participants in this special track to be held in the 25th World Multi- Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2021© on July 18 - 21, 2021; which will be a virtual one. An additional day would be added if necessary. Steps The steps for participating in this special track and potential following publications of associated full papers (which article processing charge would be waived) will be the following: 1. Submission of an abstract, by or before June 15. 2021, using the link: http://www.iiis2021.org/wmsci/abssub/default.asp?vc=1 2. Authors of all accepted abstracts will be programmed in the WMSCI 2021 virtual conference for their respective presentations, which should be asynchronous ones. 3. The abstracts will be published in the “Abstracts Proceedings” of the Special track or in the conference book, depending on the accepted and presented submissions. In any case, the abstracts will be published on the web: 1) in the conference web site and 2) in Academia.Edu, which has an audience of 158,388,592 academics and researchers.