Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from November 2003

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from November 2003

Editorial.(Editorial)
November 1, 2003... The final issue of Systems Research and Behavioral Science in 2003 is, in the main, a tribute to the work of C. West Churchman on the occasion of his 90th birthday. I am extremely grateful to John van Gigch for editing this and would echo...

Celebrating a master on the occasion of C. West Churchman's 90th birthday.(Guest Editorial)(Editorial)
November 1, 2003... THE CELEBRATION When these papers are published, C. West Churchman's 90th birthday will have passed. Churchman's birthday was on August 19, 2003. Happy Birthday, West! THE PAPERS I hereby thank the authors whose papers appear...

The legacy of C. West Churchman: a framework for social systems assessments.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2003... INTRODUCTION Based on the substantial scholarship of C. West Churchman, this is an overview of the ongoing development of a systemic framework for making value distribution assessments, social systems assessments and social systems...

Identification of normative sources for systems thinking: an inquiry into religious ground-motives for systems thinking paradigms (1).(Research Paper)
November 1, 2003... FIRST DISCOVER: "Does God Exist?" is the most important question of systems thinking. C. W. Churchman (1987, p. 139) INTRODUCTION Professor C. West Churchman, the philosopher of systems thinking, one of the founders and the main...

Participatory democracy: drawing on C. West Churchman's thinking when making public policy.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2003... INTRODUCTION The celebration of Churchman's work is the way in which his ideas provide a basis for praxis or the practical application of theory to problem solving. When talking about systems thinking some of Churchman's concepts are used,...

The paradigm of the science of management and of the management science disciplines (1).(Research Paper)
November 1, 2003... THE HIERARCHY OF INQUIRING SYSTEMS In his Design of Inquiring Systems, Churchman (1971) introduced the concept of 'inquiring system', a system designed to produce knowledge that is relevant to solve present-day problems. According to the...

A proposal for systems science.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2003... Aristotle repeatedly pointed out that his predecessors' work and conclusions were often marred by insufficient observation. He himself, after a remarkable analysis of the reproduction of bees, states that he cannot arrive at certain conclusions...

Turtles all the way down: outlines for a dynamic theory of epistemology.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2003... INTRODUCTION The idea that epistemology should be established on solid ground has been a continuous scientific venture since ancient times. Many scholars have tried to identify an 'Archimedes' point' through which the whole structure of...

Tribute to Stafford Beer.
November 1, 2003... I was associated indirectly with Stafford Beer during my time with United Steel Co. at Distington Engineering Company, Workington; and then as a colleague during my time as a Senior Tutor at Manchester Business School (1970-1987). My...

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... Based on opinions expressed at conferences and meetings, we can say that there still appears to be a lack of clarity of and consensus of views on fundamental concepts like 'system', 'emergence', 'hierarchy' and so on. There is an apparent lack...

Metadecisions Rehabilitating Epistemology.(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... By John P. van Gigch. Published by Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers, in Contemporary Systems Thinking series, 2003, 341 pp., ISBN 0 306 47458 1, [euro]130. THE PHILOSOPHY OF SYSTEMS Metadecisions covers a very challenging field: the...