Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from May 1999

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from May 1999

Systemics and Cybernetics in a Historical Perspective.
May 1, 1999... PRECURSORS (BEFORE 1948) Prehistory of Systemic-Cybernetic Language Some systemic-cybernetic terms have remote origins. Hereafter they are traced back in time, but connections with more recent developments are signalled. The...

The Problematique: Evolution of an Idea.
May 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION A problematique is a structural model, a graphical device for enhancing human understanding and facilitating the development of action plans for correcting undesirable situations. It is comprised of brief statements...

Cognitive Modelling in the Systems Theory Paradigm.
May 1, 1999... 1. INTRODUCTION Some cognitive science issues are briefly sketched, in order to contextualize the potential utility of the system science paradigm in a cultural panorama which reconsiders its methodologies and philosophical hypotheses....

The Sociology of Prison and the Self-referential Approach to Prison Organization and to Correctional Reforms.
May 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Correctional institutions, penal courts and the police exercise formal social control over crime. Crime control involves the strategies, institutions and sanctions through which legal behaviour is sought (Sutherland and...

World-Views as the Emergent Property of Human Value Systems.
May 1, 1999... WHAT ARE HUMAN VALUES? Human values are conceptual beliefs or preferences such as freedom or self-development (Hall, 1994). They may be traditional virtues or statements of social worth such as honesty, or subconscious assessments on...

Soft Issues in IS Projects: Lessons from an SME Case Study.
May 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Soft systems methodology (SSM) originated in 1972 (Checkland, 1972) as a means of dealing with complex managerial as opposed to technically defined problem situations. SSM has been developed over the ensuing 26 years based...

Redefining the Role of the Practitioner in Critical Systems Methodologies.
May 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The emergence of critical systems methodologies, of which Flood and Jackson's (1991) Total Systems Intervention (TSI) is an example, has initiated widespread debate within the systems movement (Flood and Ulrich, 1990;...

Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamic Approach to the Change in Political Systems.
May 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework, in terms of a non-equilibrium thermodynamic perspective, for the study of the dynamics of the political system. I think this attempt fulfils a parallel...

An International Project: Systems East & West.
May 1, 1999... A project, Systems East and West, has recently been launched at the Lincoln School of Management, UK. The project is intended to provide an international forum for promoting mutual learning and co-operation between researchers in the West and...