Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from July 1999

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from July 1999

Introduction to the Special Issue of Systems Research and Behavioral Science.
July 1, 1999... ANZSYS CONFERENCES The third Australian New Zealand Systems Conference was held from 1 to 4 October 1997 at the Gatton Campus of the University of Queensland, with approximately 100 people attending. These conferences are the main activity...

Pragmatist Philosophy and Soft Systems in an Upland Thai Catchment.
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION This paper reflects upon an application of soft systems methodology in an upland catchment situation in Thailand in terms of the philosophical underpinnings of approaches to action research. This paper focuses on soft systems...

The Use of Soft Systems Methodology in Emancipatory Development.
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION This paper will provide a critique of soft systems methodology (SSM) as developed by Checkland (1981), from the perspective of its use in emancipatory development in a poor rural area of the Philippines. The focus will not be...

A Systems Approach to Island Tourism Destination Management.
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Tourism has grown to a position of economic prominence in recent times. New tourist destinations are emerging around the world in order to attract a share of the lucrative travel and tourism industry. In many cases the...

The Problem of Comparison in Soft Systems Methodology.
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION One of the major complaints of people new to soft systems methodology (SSM) is that the comparison phase is confusing and even seems to be meaningless. The earlier parts of SSM seem much more useful. Students often seem to...

An Application of SSM in the On-Farm Labour Situation in the New Zealand Dairy Industry.(soft systems methodology)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION On-farm labour has been a recurring situation of concern in the New Zealand dairy industry for over 50 years. Although the industry has made dramatic advances over that period, the labour situation has remained unresolved....

The Use of TSI in Designing a System a University IS User Support Service.(total systems intervention, information system)
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The focus of this paper is an intervention guided by critical systems thinking (CST) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a university's information system (IS) user support service, namely the Academic Computing...

Punctuated Equilibrium: Reconciling Theory of Revolutionary and Incremental Change.
July 1, 1999... Models of change processes are central to management. The punctuated equilibrium model of discontinuous change, drawn from biological evolutionary theory (Eldredge and Gould, 1972), suggests that systems may be relatively stable for extended...

Rich Pictures on the Path Towards Systemic Being.
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION This paper builds on my paper for the 1997 International United Kingdom Systems Society (Campbell Williams, 1997b), and extends on my presentation (Campbell Williams, 1997a) at the Australian and New Zealand Systems Conference...

Evolution of Farming Systems and System Philosophy.
July 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Farming systems and thinking about farming change continuously. These processes can be called the evolution of farming systems and system philosophy, if change is called evolution and if thinking about systems is called...

Systems Thinking at Lincoln.(Lincoln School of Management)
July 1, 1999... Although a number of commentators have suggested that systems thinking is in decline, we have strong evidence to the contrary at the Lincoln School of Management, which is home to the Centre for Systems Research (CSR). Systems thinking is...

Exploring Personality: An Intellectual Odyssey.(Review)
July 1, 1999... Exploring Personality: An Intellectual Odyssey. By R. L. Ackoff. Monograph Series #1. Published by The Institute for interactive Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1998, Monograph, $15 This is a recent volume from the provocative...

Books to review.
July 1, 1999... Proceedings of the First Italian Conference on Systemics, Milan, 24-26 June, 1998. Edited by Gianfranco Minati, published by APOGEOE-ditone, Milan. Managerial and Organizational Cognition, Theory, Methods and Research. Edited by Colin Eden...