Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from May 1997

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from May 1997

Reflecting on SSM: The Link Between Root Definitions and Conceptual Models.
May 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION: PURPOSEFUL THINKING AND SSM In Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), enquiry into a real-world situation in which people are trying to take would-be purposeful action is structured by setting the perceived situation against a number...

Validity of Decision Support Systems: Towards a Validation Methodology.
May 1, 1997... 1. INTRODUCTION Until the early 1980s, the building and running of computer models to aid decision making was generally the preserve and responsibility of data processing and operational research (OR) departments. The major reason for this...

Beyond Markets, Hierarchies and Ownership Mania in Transitional Countries.
May 1, 1997... This paper is not an open door to a magical mystery tour that will reveal what is to be found beyond the markets, hierarchies and ownership mania in the transitional countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It is only an invitation for joint...

Time and Interactions in Complex Systems.
May 1, 1997... 1. INTRODUCTION The universe appears to our consciousness as a grand hierarchy of structures showing two general properties: first, structures appear nested along three axes originating from the molecular level and extending toward the...

Synthetic Systems Theory: Linkage between Western Theory of Physics and Eastern Thought.
May 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION It has been suggested that the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism are most striking. The basic elements of the eastern worldview are also those of the worldview emerging from modern physics. Ancient Chinese...

A Postscript to Kenneth Boulding.
May 1, 1997... As a participant in the Symposium on the General Systems Paradigm at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Denver, Colorado, in February 1977, Kenneth Boulding seemed to be taking copious notes while the...

Constructing Systems and Information: A Process View.(Review)
May 1, 1997... Constructing Systems and Information: A Process View. By Malcolm Crowe, Richard Beeby and John Gammack. Published as part of the Information Systems, Management and Strategy Series by the McGraw-Hill Companies, London, 1996, 261 pp., ISBN 0 07...

Publishing in the Organizational Sciences, 2nd edition.(Review)
May 1, 1997... Publishing in the Organizational Sciences, 2nd edition. Edited by L.L. Cummings and P.J. Frost. Published by Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1995, 330 pp., ISBN 0 8039 7144 3 (hardback), 0 8039 7145 1 (paper) The Journal of Applied Psychology receives...

For Positivist Organization Theory.
May 1, 1997... For Positivist Organization Theory. Bt Lex Donaldson. Published by Sage Publications, London, 1996, 190 pp., ISBN 0 7619 5227 6, 19.50 [pounds sterling] (paper) Lex Donaldson is a Professor of Organizational Design and as such he has taken...

The Construction of Social Reality.
May 1, 1997... The Construction of Social Reality. By John R. Searle. Published by The Free Press, New York, 1995, 241 pp., ISBN 0 02 928045 1 In this section, Professor J.P. van Gigch presents an overview of three books and two articles which deal with...

The Mystery of Consciousness.
May 1, 1997... The Mystery of Consciousness. By John R. Searle in The New York Review of Books, 1995, Vol. XLII (Numbers 17 and 18), 2 November and 16 November respectively In this section, Professor J.P. van Gigch presents an overview of three books and...

The Last Word.
May 1, 1997... The Last Word. By Thomas Nagel. Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997, 147 pp., ISBN 0 18 510834 5 In this section, Professor J.P. van Gigch presents an overview of three books and two articles which deal with the subject of...

Dreams of a Final Theory.
May 1, 1997... Dreams of a Final Theory. By Steven Weinberg. Published by Vintage Books, 1992, 340 pp., ISBN 0 679 74408 8 (paper) In this section, Professor J.P. van Gigch presents an overview of three books and two articles which deal with the subject...