Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from July 2006

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from July 2006

System dynamics in organizational consultation: modelling for intervening in organizations: selected papers from the second European System Dynamics Workshop, at Radboud University Nijmegen.(Guest Editorial)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION This special edition of Systems Research and Behavioral Science concentrates on the System Dynamics approach (Forrester, 1961, 1968). Although the links between the discipline of System Dynamics and the wider systems movement...

System dynamics and organizational interventions.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... BACKGROUND From the early days of the field, system dynamics has aimed at involving clients in the process of model construction. Forrester (1961) has repeatedly emphasized the need to access the mental database of managers in order to be...

System dynamics modelling for strategy implementation--case study and issues.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION System dynamics modelling in organizations has been applied to identify strategic objectives, to explore potential strategic behaviour modes and, ultimately, to formulate improved organizational policies to achieve strategic...

Lessons learned from unsuccessful modelling interventions.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND AND RELEVANCE Interventions in real world policy problems are at the core of system dynamics since its inception. Client participation in group model building has been found helpful in creating commitment to...

Learning from failure: comment on the paper by Eskinasi and Fokkema.(Discussant's Comments)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION OF THE BRAVE Eskinasi and Fokkema (2006) report on lessons learned from unsuccessful modelling interventions and their public confession is remarkable in several ways. First, in general authors will be inclined to draw their...

Flexible study processes in 'knotty' system dynamics projects.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION The title refers to 'knotty' problems. The word knotty is defined by Merriam-Webster Online as: 'so full of difficulties and complications as to be likely to defy solution', and offers 'complex' as a synonym. System...

Do complex system dynamics projects require special study processes? Comments on the paper by Winch and Derrick.(Discussant's Comments)
July 1, 2006... Winch and Derrick (2006) discuss a classic problem in System Dynamics from a special perspective and with emphasis on a particular aspect: How should a System Dynamics project proceed if not only the system under investigation is complex but...

Causation and constitution in system dynamics: modelling a socially constituted world.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION In this paper I argue that causal models and particularly System Dynamics models, are of limited use when studying social phenomena. This limitation stems from their inability to represent constitutional change. Causal models...

Comment on the paper by van der Smagt.(Discussant's Comments)(social constructivism)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2006... Ton van der Smagt's paper is about the social construction of shared realities and models of the same. According to social constructivism, collective cognition is conceived as a social process by which such creation and representation take...

Second-order intervention: enhancing organizational competence and performance.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION An intervention is commonly defined as an action of intervening or interfering in any affair so as to affect its course or issue (Simpson and Weiner, 1989, p. 3). The concept of intervention is much used in economics, where...

Second-order interventions? Comment on the paper by Schwaninger, Janovjak and Ambroz.(Discussant's Comments)(Critical essay)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION In their paper 'Second-order intervention: enhancing organizational competence and performance' Schwaninger, Janovjak and Ambroz discuss the concept of second-order intervention and set out to show its usefulness by means of...

The social dimension of system dynamics-based modelling.(Research Paper)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION There is no doubt that system dynamics (SD)-based modelling (see Richardson and Pugh, 1981; Vennix, 1996; Sterman, 2000) has a social dimension. SD-models are built and used in a social context. Most of them are built to deal...

It works in practice but does it work in theory? Comment on the paper by Vriens and Achterbergh.(Discussant's Comments)
July 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION--THE ROLE OF THEORY IN PRACTICAL INTERVENTIONS The paper by Vriens and Achterbergh (2006) concerns itself with a theoretical analysis of the social dimension of system dynamics work. It should be remembered that the...

Reflections on the second European System Dynamics Workshop, at Radboud University.(Afterword)
July 1, 2006... Following the great success of the inaugural European System Dynamics Workshop held in Mannheim in 2003, the second workshop had a lot to live up to. It was to everyone's delight that the second event matched the first in terms of both...

International Conference on Multidisciplinary Information Sciences and Technologies, InSciT2006, October 25-28 2006, Merida, Spain.(News)
July 1, 2006... InSciT2006 is getting closer and news regarding the conference is growing remarkably. As featured facts we want to highlight the support from the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) which is now endorsing...

The 3rd Asia-Pacific International Conference on Knowledge Management (KMAP), 11-13 December 2006, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.(News)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... KMAP 2006 will attract scholars and practitioners from around the Asia-Pacific region with the conference theme, The Knowledge Powerhouse for the Future. The objective of KMAP is to explore these multi-dimensional issues among practitioners and...