Soft systems and systems engineering: on the use of conceptual models in information system development

Abstract. Many recent studies have shown that computer-based systems continue to ‘fail’ at a number of different levels (Romtec, 1988; KPMG, 1990) and it is increasingly apparent (Maclaren et al., 1991) that the most serious failures of information technology (IT) lie in the continuing inability to address those concerns which are central to the successful achievement of individual, organizational and social goals. It is the contention of this paper that this failing is precisely because these are the areas which are ignored or inadequately treated by conventional system development methods. There is, of course, a vast body of literature concerned with the understanding of complex human activity systems. This literature often reflects a mass of contradictions at the epistemological and the ontological level about the behaviour of such systems and has also spawned numerous methods (and methodologies) which seek to guide the individual in making successful interventions into organizational situations (Rosenhead, 1989). Despite this multiplicity of viewpoints many writers have posited a dichotomy between so-called 'soft and ‘hard’ approaches to problem situations and use this dichotomy to inform the choice of an appropriate problem-solving methodology (Checkland, 1985). In this paper we characterize these two approaches as being concerned with either the purpose(s) of the human activity system (i.e. ‘doing the right thing’) or with the design of the efficient means of achieving such purpose(s) (i.e. ‘doing the thing right’). It is our belief that much of the literature and work in either area has not concerned itself with the issues of the other. Writers on ‘hard’ engineering methods often assume the question of purpose to be either straightforward (e.g. given in the project brief) or, paradoxically, too difficult (e.g. it is not our concern as mere systems analysts). Writers on ‘soft’ methods on the other hand rarely have anything to say about the design and implementation of well-engineered computer-based systems, giving the impression that this is a somewhat mundane activity better left to technical experts. This paper, therefore, attempts to set out a rationale for the bringing together of principles from both ‘hard’ engineering and ‘soft’ inquiry methods without doing epistemological damage to either. To illustrate our argument we concentrate on JSD (Jackson system development) as an example of system engineering (Cameron, 1983) and SSM (soft systems methodology) as an example of system inquiry (Checkland, 1981; Checkland & Scholes, 1990). Our general thesis, however, does not depend upon either of these two approaches per se but applies to the overall issue of bringing together insights from two apparently opposed epistemological positions in an effort better to harness the power of IT in pursuit of purposeful human activity.     

The effectiveness of office information systems: a social action perspective

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to show that a number of basic issues have not been adequately addressed in existing office information systems research. Prominent among these are the nature and role of offices, the goals of office information systems development, and the nature of its organizational and managerial consequences. It is proposed that office information systems should be analysed as social action systems the behaviour of which is strongly affected by socially determined forces and constraints such as the behaviour-channelling influences of authority, norms, customs, habits and precedence. Four types of social action are discussed: instrumental, strategic, communicative and discursive. Three contexts for perceiving and analysing the effects of social action in offices are introduced: technology, language and organization. Office information systems changes affect elements and relationships in these three contexts in different ways. By cross-relating social action types and contexts, nine classes of object systems are identified. Each object system class implies a different category of effectiveness concerns which in turn implies different office information system design requirements. The paper notes that the existing research literature has primarily been concerned with only three of the nine object systems. For more effective office information systems development, however, the other systems also need to be considered. The paper concludes by exploring how this may be done.     

SYSTEMS EDUCATION AT THE FIELDING INSTITUTE

This is an exposition of the post-graduate program evolving at the Fielding Institute to train professionals in social praxis—ting system theory and methods into programs that effect social change. We illustrate herein how the practice of intervention in social systems calls upon systems praxis, and we argue that the practitioners must have, in addition to a background in the social sciences, a pragmatic access to theories of personal, social and institutional change. The foundation of an education for systems praxis requires intermingling theoretical ideas with skills that can affect the social system. We propose three essential elements for the education of system practitioners: (1) the process of decision-making. (2) processes of inquiry suitable to living systems at personal and at societal levels, and (3) system thinking. Finally, we describe how the whole process requires self-reflection and personal maturity to maintain authentic human engagement     

PDViz: A Visual Analytics Approach for State Policy Data

Sub-national governments across the United States implement a variety of policies to address large societal problems and needs. Many policies are picked up or adopted in other states. This process is called policy diffusion and allows researchers to analyse and compare the social, political, and contextual characteristics that lead to adopting certain policies, as well as the efficacy of these policies once adopted. In this paper, we introduce PDViz, a visual analytics approach that allows social scientists to dynamically analyse the policy diffusion history and underlying patterns. It is designed for analysing and answering a list of research questions and tasks posed by social scientists in prior work. To evaluate our system, we present two usage scenarios and conduct interviews with domain experts in political science. The interviews highlight that PDViz provides the result of policy diffusion patterns that align with their domain knowledge as well as the potential to be a learning tool for students to understand the concept of policy diffusion.     

The cybernetics of viability: an overview

A three-level approach to viability is developed, considering (1) living systems, (2) a niche, understood as the area within the reach of their actions, and (3) an environment. A systematic analysis of the interrelations between these levels shows that living systems emerge with matter/energy processing systems. These can add controller structures when producing excess energy. A three-sensor controller structure enables a living system to deal with unfavourable and scarce environments. Further evolution of these controller structures offers improved ways to act on niches. Maintaining niches in scarce environments can require technology or economy. So social systems emerge, which are understood as aggregates of living systems. Basic patterns of interactions within social systems are analysed. So the introduction of the notion of the niche into the discussion of viability allows us to explain phenomena ranging from properties of single living systems to societal organization.     

An integrated programme for critical thinking in information systems research

Abstract. This paper sets out to demonstrate that critical systems thinking can provide the necessary theoretical background for the development of an integrated approach to critical thinking in information systems research. Critical systems thinking is itself a relatively new development in management science. By about 1990, however, it had established itself on the basis of five commitments; to critical awareness, to social awareness, to complementarism at the level of methodology, to complementarism at the level of theory, and to human well-being and emancipation. The paper discusses these critical systems commitments and shows that each of them has, at one time or another, received attention in the literature on information systems. Addressing them as a whole, as in critical systems thinking, can yield an integrated programme for critical thinking in information systems research.     

大数据时代的计算政治学研究

政治学研究一直是社会科学领域的热点研究方向。政治理论、比较政治、公共政策和国际政治等,这些经典的政治学研究课题吸引了大批的政治学学者。从传统政治学研究中的道德哲学和法理主义,到行为主义政治学研究中的科学方法论和定量分析,再到一些自然科学工作者开始涉足政治学领域,政治学的研究方法一直在发展与演变。该文在对传统政治学研究的方法进行简要总结的基础上,针对互联网时代,“大数据”驱动下的政治学研究,阐述了计算政治学的起源、定义及其主要的研究内容和方法,论述了目前研究的热点政治倾向性及政治观点识别、冲突观点检测、选举预测和分析可视化的研究进展。     

从工业4.0到能源5.0:智能能源系统的概念、内涵及体系框架

分析推动工业进程和能源进程交互发展的因素和趋势, 结合能源互联网的发展要求, 提出了建立能源5.0的迫切性和必要性. 着重讨论了在网络化之后, 能源系统呈现的社会性问题, 认为在传统方式之外, 必须引入人类社会学、管理学等软科学进行分析建模; 指出了虚拟人工系统根本不同于传统仿真系统等理念, 只有利用虚拟人工模型, 采用平行系统, 才能建立能源5.0. 阐述了能源5.0的理论、框架和技术, 明确了能源5.0、基于社会物理信息系统(Cyber-physical-social system, CPSS) 的平行能源是等价的概念. 指出能源5.0核心是构建与实际能源系统同构的虚拟人工能源系统, 通过虚拟人工能源系统的计算实验, 确定优化控制策略, 引导实际能源系统运行, 并使虚拟人工系统和实际系统平行执行、共同演化, 形成智能能源系统. 最后以华电集团已经完成的分布式能源5.0示范项目和正在实施的火力发电5.0项目及智能家居能源系统, 探讨了能源5.0的研究内容、技术途径及应用前景.     

'Soft' systems thinking and information systems: a framework for client-led design

Abstract. Since the mid-1980s there has been a growing interest in the application of soft systems methodology (SSM) to the information systems design process. This interest has resulted from attempts to overcome the recognized deficiencies of conventional computer systems analysis methods and techniques. A particular problem which has received attention over the past 5 years is the epistemological and operational differences between the investigative process of the pre-design stage and the technological specification. We suggest that this argument is somewhat unproductive and advocate a necessary rethinking about the nature of information systems and the use of technology to support their activities. A re-evaluation of the way that we set about designing computer-based information systems suggests that many of the problems of conventional systems analysis methods may be alleviated by an approach that allows the 'client', or 'user', to have a greater control over the identification, specification and development of their information system(s). The authors' belief in this course of action has led to the development of client-led design as an underpinning philosophy for user participation in the design of computer-based information systems. Client-led design draws upon and develops concepts and tools from 'interpretive', or 'soft', systems thinking and, in particular, can be seen as providing a framework for the type of subjective inquiry that Checkland & Scholes (1990) referred to as 'ideal-type' mode 2 SSM. This paper is related to the papers published in the Journal of Information Systems (Vol. 3, No. 3), which was a special edition to illustrate the influence of 'soft' systems thinking upon information systems design and development.     

考虑社会关系影响差异和动态性的社会化推荐

推荐系统近年来在学术界和工业界都得到了广泛地研究和发展。随着社交媒体的发展,社交活动日益普及并产生丰富的社会关系。融合社会关系进行推荐可以缓解传统推荐系统面临的数据稀疏和冷启动问题。已有很多成功利用社会关系和评分信息进行推荐的算法,然而它们没有充分地挖掘不同的社会关系对用户的不同影响以及在不同时间段中社会关系的不同影响,这导致推荐效果的下降。基于对现实中社会关系影响的复杂性的充分考虑,提出了新的考虑社会关系影响差异和动态性的社会化推荐算法。在Epinions数据集上的实验结果表明该方法可以提高推荐质量。复杂度分析也表明该方法具有可扩展性,能够适应大数据集的要求。     

Recent Developments in Cybernetics,from Cognition to Social Systems

Abstract

This article consists of three parts. In the first part we describe a short history of cybernetics and an effort, which has been undertaken by a group of scientists in the United States and Europe in recent years, to expand the conception of science so that it more successfully encompasses the social sciences. The intent is to aid communication among disciplines and improve our ability to manage social systems. The second part of the article presents an effort in Russia to develop reflexivity theory into a general theory of purposeful, self-developing systems, thus improving our understanding and management of social systems. Understanding Western and Eastern approaches to cybernetics can be difficult because of the very different histories and intellectual traditions of cybernetics in the United States and Russia. The article ends with a comparison of the two approaches to cybernetics, comparing their features side by side. The differences suggest a great potential for ideas from Russian and Western scientists to enrich the further development of cybernetics and science in East and West.     

The effects of computerized inquiry‐stage‐dependent argumentation assistance on elementary students' science process and argument construction skills

This study proposed a computerized inquiry‐stage‐dependent argumentation assistance and investigated whether this can help improve elementary students' performance in science processes and the construction of quality arguments. Various argumentation assistances were developed and incorporated into each stage of scientific inquiry in a computer‐supported scientific inquiry system. A nonequivalent quasi‐experimental design was adopted to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. Two intact sixth grade classes (N = 55) participated in this study, and each student used a tablet computer to accomplish the designated inquiry activities. One class of students was arranged to use the stage‐dependent argumentation assistance, and the other used a generic text‐based interface. The findings indicate that students who used the stage‐dependent argumentation assistance could acquire significantly better science process and argument construction skills than those using the generic text‐based interface.     

An adaptive neuro-fuzzy model for prediction of student’s academic performance

This paper introduces a systematic approach for the design of a fuzzy inference system based on a class of neural networks to assess the students’ academic performance. Fuzzy systems have reached a recognized success in several applications to solve diverse class of problems. Currently, there is an increasing trend to expand them with learning and adaptation capabilities through combinations with other techniques. Fuzzy systems-neural networks and fuzzy systems-genetic algorithms are the most successful applications of soft computing techniques with hybrid characteristics and learning capabilities. The developed method uses a fuzzy system augmented by neural networks to enhance some of its characteristics like flexibility, speed, and adaptability, which is called the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). New trends in soft computing techniques, their applications, model development of fuzzy systems, integration, hybridization and adaptation are also introduced. The parameters set to facilitate the hybrid learning rules for the constitution of the Sugeno-type ANFIS architecture is then elaborated. The method can produce crisp numerical outcomes to predict the student’s academic performance (SAP). It also provides an alternative solution to deal with imprecise data. The results of the ANFIS model are as robust as those of the statistical methods, yet they encourage a more natural way to interpret the student’s outcomes.     

The implications of complexity for integrated resources management

Integrated environmental resources management is a purposeful activity with the goal to maintain and improve the state of an environmental resource affected by human activities. In many cases different goals are in conflict and the notion “integrated” clearly indicates that resources management should be approached from a broad perspective taking all potential trade-offs and different scales in space and time into account. However, we are yet far from putting into practice integrated resources management fully taking into account the complexity of human-technology-environment systems. The tradition of resources management and of dealing with environmental problems is characterized by a command and control approach. The increasing awareness for the complexity of environmental problems and of human-technology-environment systems has triggered the development of new management approaches. The paper discusses the importance of focusing on the transition to new management paradigms based on the insight that the systems to be managed are complex adaptive systems. It provides arguments for the role of social learning processes and the need to develop methods combining approaches from hard and soft systems analysis. Soft systems analysis focuses on the importance of subjective perceptions and socially constructed reality. Soft systems methods and group model building techniques are quite common in management science where the prime target of management has always been the social system. Resources management is still quite slow to take up such innovations that should follow as a logical consequence of adopting an integrated management approach. Integrated water resources management is used as example to provide evidence for the need to implement participatory and adaptive management approaches that are able to cope with increasing uncertainties arising from fast changing socio-economic conditions and global and climate change. Promising developments and future research directions are discussed. The paper concludes with pointing out the need for changes in the scientific community to improve the conditions for interdisciplinary, system-oriented and trans-disciplinary research.     

Switching controller design via convex polyhedral Lyapunov functions

In this paper we propose a systematic switching control design method for a class of nonlinear discrete time hybrid systems. The novelty of the adopted approach is in the fact that unlike conventional control the control burden is shifted to a logical level thus creating the need for the development of new analysis/design methods.     

思维(认知)科学在中国的创新与发展

介绍钱学森先生在中国开创思维(认知)科学的历程及其主要学术思想, 概要介绍了思维学、思维系统工程的研究, 分析了形象思维、社会思维在思维(认知)科学研究中的重要作用, 探讨了思维科学与认知科学研究的互相关联并对其共同发展进行了展望.     

Inquiry-based mobile learning in secondary school science education: A systematic review

Recent years have seen a growing call for inquiry-based learning in science education, and mobile technologies are perceived as increasingly valuable tools to support this approach. However, there is a lack of understanding of mobile technology-supported inquiry-based learning (mIBL) in secondary science education. More evidence-based, nuanced insights are needed into how using mobile technologies might facilitate students' engagement with various levels of inquiry and enhance their science learning. We, therefore, conducted a robust systematic literature review (SLR) of the research articles on mIBL in secondary school science education that have been published from 2000 to 2019. We reviewed and analysed 31 empirical studies (34 articles) to explore the types of mIBL, and the benefits and constraints of mIBL in secondary school science education. The findings of this SLR suggest new research areas for further exploration and provide implications for science teachers' selection, use and design of mIBL approaches in their teaching.     

A new integral inequality and its applications to robust control problems of uncertain nonlinear systems

In this paper, a new integral inequality is presented. By combining this integral inequality with adaptive approach, new design methods can be developed to synthesize some adaptive robust control schemes for a large class of uncertain nonlinear systems and to deal with well the unknown nonlinearities appearing in uncertain nonlinear control dynamical systems. As an application of the presented integral inequality to control theory, the robust stabilization problem is considered for a class of uncertain strict‐feedback nonlinear systems with both time‐delay and unknown dead‐zone input nonlinearities. It is shown that there are two main merits in the design method based on the integral inequality presented in this paper. The first one is that one need not estimate and know the unknown nonlinearities to synthesize some stabilizing control schemes. The second one is that the resulting feedback control schemes have rather simple structure.     

融入用户社会关系的协同主题回归模型

协同主题回归（CTR）将概率矩阵分解和主题模型结合应用于推荐系统,在许多推荐应用中取得了成功,但该模型没有考虑用户社会关系对用户兴趣的影响。针对该问题,引入概率链接函数来评估社会关系网络对用户兴趣的影响,并以此约束目标函数。在CTR的基础之上,提出一种融入用户社会关系的协同主题回归模型（USRCTR）,结合用户项目评分信息、项目内容和社会关系网络,构建一个基于分层贝叶斯模型的推荐引擎。在Lastfm数据集上实验表明,与其他几种CTR改进方法对比,该模型的训练时间更短,推荐精度更高。     

Archival Practices and the Making of “Memories”

Following Derrida (1995), our article explores the relationship between archival practices and archival documents on the assumption that “archivization produces as much as it records the event” (Derrida 1995, 17). On this approach, archival practices are understood as non-innocent practices that, in the act of “preservation,” help make specific “memories” at the expense of others (Barad 2007; Derrida 1995; Foucault 1972). We take up this issue in relation to the curation of social science quantitative research data and argue that the ontological identity of data is constituted through historically- and culturally-specific data curation practices including data cleaning, data anonymization, and metadata preparation.