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Soft Systems Methodology
Soft systems methodology (SSM) is an organised way of thinking applicable to problematic social situations and in the management of change by using action. It was developed in England by academics at the Lancaster Systems Department on the basis of a ten-year action research programme.Checkland P.B. and Scholes, J. (1990) Soft Systems in Action, Wiley ev 1999 ed/ref> Overview The Soft Systems Methodology was developed primarily by Peter Checkland, through 10 years of research with his colleagues, such as Brian Wilson. The method was derived from numerous earlier systems engineering processes, primarily because traditional 'hard' systems thinking was not able to account for larger organisational issues with many complex relationships. SSM has a primary use in the analysis of these complex situations, where there are divergent views about the definition of the problem. These complex situations are known as "soft problems". They are usually real world problems where the goals an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancaster University
Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new universities created in the 1960s. The university was initially based in St Leonard's Gate in the city centre, before starting a move in 1967 to a purpose-built campus located on at Bailrigg, to the south of the city. The campus buildings are arranged around a central walkway known as the Spine, which is connected to a central plaza, named Alexandra Square in honour of its first chancellor (education), chancellor, Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, Princess Alexandra. Lancaster is a Colleges within universities in the United Kingdom, residential collegiate university; the colleges are weakly autonomous. The eight undergraduate colleges are named after places in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copyright Violations
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to produce derivative works. The copyright holder is usually the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement. Copyright infringement disputes are usually resolved through direct negotiation, a notice and take down process, or litigation in civil court. Egregious or large-scale commercial infringement, especially when it involves counterfeiting, or the fraudulent imitation of a product or brand, is sometimes prosecuted via the criminal justice system. Shifting public expectations, advances in digital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kristo Ivanov
Kristo Ivanov (born 1937-10-20) is a Swedish-Brazilian information scientist and systems scientist of ethnic Bulgarian origin. He is professor emeritus at the Department of informatics of Umeå University in Sweden. Biography Ivanov was born in Belgrade in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but grew up and was educated in Italy and later in Brazil where hgraduated in electronic engineeringat the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica. In 1961 he moved to Sweden, where he worked as an electronic engineer in the telecommunications and computer industries, with assignments in France and the USA. In 1972 he obtained a PhD degree in informatics at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences of the Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University. He has conducted further studies in political economy, business administration, and statistics, and obtained a degree in psychology at Lund University His study led to positions at Stockholm University and Linköping University. In 1984 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and produces books, Academic journal, journals, and encyclopedias, in print and electronically, as well as online products and services, training materials, and educational materials for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students. History The company was established in 1807 when Charles Wiley opened a print shop in Manhattan. The company was the publisher of 19th century American literary figures like James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as of legal, religious, and other non-fiction titles. The firm took its current name in 1865. Wiley later shifted its focus to scientific, Technology, technical, and engineering subject areas, abandoning its literary interests. Wiley's son Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systems Philosophy
Systems philosophy is a discipline aimed at constructing a new philosophy (in the sense of worldview) by using systems concepts. The discipline was first described by Ervin Laszlo in his 1972 book ''Introduction to Systems Philosophy: Toward a New Paradigm of Contemporary Thought''. It has been described as the "reorientation of thought and world view ensuing from the introduction of "systems" as a new scientific paradigm". Overview Soon after Laszlo founded systems philosophy it was placed in context by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, one of the founders of general system theory, when he categorized three domains within systemics namely: # "Systems science", which is concerned with "scientific exploration and theory of "systems" in the various sciences...and general system theory as doctrine of principles applying to all systems"; # "Systems technology", which is concerned with "the problems arising in modern technology and society, comprising both the "hardware" of computers, automati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systems Theory
Systems theory is the Transdisciplinarity, transdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or artificial. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structure, function and role, and expressed through its relations with other systems. A system is "more than the sum of its parts" when it expresses synergy or emergent behavior. Changing one component of a system may affect other components or the whole system. It may be possible to predict these changes in patterns of behavior. For systems that learn and adapt, the growth and the degree of adaptation depend upon how well the system is engaged with its environment and other contexts influencing its organization. Some systems support other systems, maintaining the other system to prevent failure. The goals of systems theory are to model a system's dynamics, Theory of constraints, constraints, conditions, and relations; and to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Structured Systems Analysis And Design Method
Structured systems analysis and design method (SSADM) is a systems approach to the analysis and design of information systems. SSADM was produced for the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, a UK government office concerned with the use of technology in government, from 1980 onwards. Overview SSADM is a waterfall method for the analysis and design of information systems. SSADM can be thought to represent a pinnacle of the rigorous document-led approach to system design, and contrasts with more contemporary agile methods such as DSDM or Scrum. SSADM is one particular implementation and builds on the work of different schools of structured analysis and development methods, such as Peter Checkland's soft systems methodology, Larry Constantine's structured design, Edward Yourdon's Yourdon Structured Method, Michael A. Jackson's Jackson Structured Programming, and Tom DeMarco's structured analysis. The names "Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method" and " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rich Picture
__NOTOC__ Part of the soft systems methodology, rich pictures provide a mechanism for learning about complex or ill-defined problems by drawing detailed ("rich") representations of them. Typically, rich pictures follow no commonly agreed syntax, usually consist of symbols, cartoons, sketches or doodles and can contain as much (pictorial) information as is deemed necessary. The finished picture may be of value to other stakeholders of the problem being described since it is likely to capture many different facets of the situation, but the real value of this technique is the way it forces the creator to think more deeply about the problem and understand it well enough to express it pictorially (a process known as action learning). Rich pictures are a diagrammatic way of relating your own experiences and perceptions to a given problem situation through the identification and linking of a series of concepts. The creation of a rich picture provides a forum in which to think about a given ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Problem Structuring Methods
Problem structuring methods (PSMs) are a group of techniques used to model or to map the nature or structure of a situation or state of affairs that some people want to change. PSMs are usually used by a group of people in collaboration (rather than by a solitary individual) to create a consensus about, or at least to facilitate negotiations about, what needs to change. Some widely adopted PSMs include * soft systems methodology * the strategic choice approach * strategic options development and analysis (SODA) Unlike some problem solving methods that assume that all the relevant issues and constraints and goals that constitute the problem are defined in advance or are uncontroversial, PSMs assume that there is no single uncontested representation of what constitutes the problem. PSMs are mostly used with groups of people, but PSMs have also influenced the coaching and counseling of individuals. History The term "problem structuring methods" as a label for these techniques ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Thought Processes
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to thought (thinking): Thought is the object of a mental process called thinking, in which beings form psychological associations and models of the world. Thinking is manipulating information, as when we form concepts, engage in problem solving, reason and make decisions. Thought, the act of thinking, produces more thoughts. A thought may be an idea, an image, a sound or even control an emotional feeling. Nature of thought Thought (or thinking) can be described as all of the following: * An activity taking place in a: ** brain – organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals (only a few invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, adult sea squirts and starfish do not have a brain). It is the physical structure associated with the mind. *** mind – abstract entity with the cognitive faculties of consciousness, perception, thinking, judgemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holism
Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts", typically attributed to Aristotle, is often given as a summary of this proposal. The concept of holism can inform the methodology for a broad array of scientific fields and lifestyle practices. When applications of holism are said to reveal properties of a whole system beyond those of its parts, these qualities are referred to as emergent properties of that system. Holism in all contexts is often placed in opposition to reductionism, a dominant notion in the philosophy of science that systems containing parts contain no unique properties beyond those parts. Proponents of holism consider the search for emergent properties within systems to be demonstrative of their perspective. Background The term "holism" was coined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hard Systems
Hard systems is a problem-solving approach in systems science. It can be contrasted with soft systems, for which systems thinking must handle many ill-defined, or not easily quantified elements. Hard systems approaches such as systems analysis (structured methods), operations research and so on, assume that the problems associated with such systems are well-defined and likely to have a single, optimum solution, so a problem-solving approach will work well as technical factors tend to predominate.Michael C. Jackson (1991). Systems methodology for the management sciences. New York, NY: Plenum Press.Michael C. Jackson (2003). Systems thinking: Creative holism for managers. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Developments in hard systems thinking Hard systems began to emerge as a distinct philosophy in the 1950s. See also *Systems engineering *Systems analysis Systems analysis is "the process of studying a procedure or business to identify its goal and purposes and create sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
