Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from November 2006

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from November 2006

Editorial.
November 1, 2006... This edition of Systems Research and Behavioral Science contains a diverse collection of papers that emphasize both the development of systems theory and the application of systems ideas in practice. The research paper section starts with...

Public and private codes in living systems theory.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION The advent of the Internet has brought new salience to the issues of system security and coding. Internet users who will give their credit card number to a stranger in a store may be reluctant to send it across the Internet....

Working at the interface between systems and complexity thinking: insights from a market access design project for poor livestock producers.(Research Paper)(Author abstract)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION We were engaged in what may be described as a collaborative, constructivist inquiry. Many taking part in the inquiry had a history of working with systems theory in teaching or applied problem solving. Because of this shared...

Roadmapping as a way of knowledge management for supporting scientific research in academia.(Research Paper)(Author abstract)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION Knowledge management has had growing concerns from the 1990s with the recognition that knowledge plays the predominant part in economic growth and that the ability of learning and knowledge creation is the only resource for...

Complementarism versus pluralism: are they different and does it matter?(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION Research on systems methodology and practice (hereafter RSM) has gained increasing attention and popularity during the last two decades, and has resulted in an active worldwide community and an established field of inquiry....

The wonder of trivial machines.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION This paper is the first of a series that are written to show how concepts from cybernetics can help illuminate and possibly resolve some central, linked questions in physical architecture. The paper addresses two questions....

Aesthetics in OR/systems practice: towards a concept of critical imagination as a challenge to systems thinking.(Research Paper)(Author abstract)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION Over 30 years ago, Ackoff (1979) tried to show that the object and outcomes of systems/operational research (OR) processes are aesthetic in character, and that aesthetic values should be incorporated into our theories and...

Systems sensitive dialogue intervention.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION Dialogue methods consist of specific rules and guidelines that aim to improve group interaction, collective learning and investigation. The central task of a dialogue is to provide a setting for communication and thinking in...

Treating socio-technical systems as engineering systems: some conceptual problems ([dagger]).(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION: A CONCEPTUAL PROBLEM The field of systems engineering has inherited a conceptual problem from systems theory. Just as systems theory since its beginnings has been plagued by the question of how to separate a system from its...

A theoretical base for high-level simulation of organizational information systems.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION In the words of this article, an information system is all that within an organization contributing to the distribution of information. The information system consists of nodes capable of holding information, channels able...

Standing ovation: an attempt to simulate human personalities.(Research Paper)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION At the end of a concert, a crowd stands in applause with the exception of one man who sits silently. At the end of a speech, a woman stands in applause while the rest of the audience remains seated. At the end of a musical,...

Philosophy of technology in organizations: a foundation for intranets.(Notes and Insights)
November 1, 2006... INTRODUCTION Simondon (Dumouchel, 1995) draws attention to the fact that philosophy is important because of its relation to technology and to our understanding thereof. Hence, philosophy can enhance our reflection on technology. In...

Co-Laboratories of Democracy: How People Harness Their Collective Wisdom to Create the Future.(Book review)
November 1, 2006... Co-Laboratories of Democracy: How People Harness Their Collective Wisdom to Create the Future. By Alexander N. Christakis and Kenneth C. Bausch. Published by Information Age Publishing, Boston, MA, 2006, ISBN: 1-59311-482-6, $69.95...

Book review.(Rescuing the Enlightenment from Itself: Critical and Systemic Implications for Democracy)(Book review)
November 1, 2006... For a change we have a book that comes up with a practical 'how to' approach that has also been tested out over many years. I have just returned from a lecture on critical system thinking and practice in which I praised this book to...