Information technology and systems

Book Review Editorial

Information technology and systems     

基于系统工程的系统分类法及应用

首先叙述了一般文献中对系统的分类,然后对钱学森为首的一批知名学者关于系统的人和了介绍。详细地讨论了Ｓｈｅｎｈａｒ和Ｂｏｎｅｎ对系统的二维分类法,并同钱学森的系统分类法进行联系,根据２－Ｄ分类法,提出了系统开发的三维结构,最后对其应用实例进行了说明。     

Business ethics and systems thinking

This paper discusses the development of research in business ethics and recent directions taken by scholars in the field. We also analyze ethical considerations in systems theory and speculate on the possibilities of examining business ethics from a systemic perspective.     

Cybernetics and suprahuman autopoietic systems

Several streams of cybernetic thinking lead to the notion that there may exist systems of a higher logical order than that of manmade organisation. Such systems would be autopoietic and, in principle, beyond human control. Man and his institutions would be but components of such systems. The accelerated growth of institutions and the connections between them facilitated by the IT revolution makes the realization of such systems more probable at this time. The implications for systems practice are discussed.     

David Hume and systems practice

The aim of this paper is to provide some refreshment for jaded and confused spirits. David Hume, the foremost critic of the Enlightenment, asked some questions, pertinent to systems practice, which have yet to be answered fully. His attacks on superstition and naive realism will be received with sympathy today, but he still makes challenges to rationalism and to a priori knowledge and principles, which are as fresh today as they were in his time. He also has some advice for systems practitioners.     

Identifying and incorporating change in information systems

The difficulty of identifying future requirements and the inflexibility of information systems make what is normally called the maintenance process difficult and costly, and may lead to information systems failure or obsolescence. This paper addresses the problem in a number of ways. It discusses three techniques which might be used to help identify future requirements. Two of these techniques are drawn from other disciplines; the third is not used widely in the information systems domain. All the techniques have broader applicability than maintenance alone, in that they are concerned with reducing uncertainty. The paper outlines some tenets of good applications software design, drawn from a number of sources, which will facilitate change by making the software design more flexible. Finally, these tenets are incorporated into information systems design through a proposed modification of the information systems life cycle framework. This framework—part of a “code of good practice” for information systems developers—could be incorporated into information systems development methodologies.     

Emancipation and truth in critical systems methodologies

This paper deals with the need for stakeholders to participate actively in organizations, so that systems methodologies can be applied in a critical fashion with the objective of arousing the emancipatory interest. It discusses the meaning of emancipation in the labor movement tradition and the emergence of the apathy of working people toward it. Critical Systems Thinking is obliged to face this apathy in its attempt to motivate the emancipatory interest.     

雷达反导与林肯实验室

对林肯实验室55年来的工作——主要是导弹防御,包括反弹道导弹和反巡航导弹方面的工作,进行了系统和全面地了解。简单介绍在1958年前实验室在防空领域,特别是远程雷达和弹道导弹早期预警系统(BMEWS)中的工作,重点介绍1958年至今在弹道导弹防御(BMD)中,特别是在目标识别领域中的杰出贡献。而后对实验室1977年重返防空,从事反巡航导弹方面的工作作了介绍,以图表形式对实验室的全面工作概貌作简单介绍。最后论述了作者的几点认识。     

Consensus and r-consensus problems for singular systems

In this paper, the problem of consensus for continuous time singular systems of multi-agent networks is considered. The definition of r-consensus is introduced for singular systems of multi-agent networks. Firstly, linear systems with algebraic constraints are considered, and the corresponding results about consensus and average-consensus are derived. Then r-consensus and consensus problems of singular systems are investigated. Sufficient conditions of r-consensus and consensus are obtained, respectively. Finally, an illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Choice and ideology with interpretive systems theory

This Research Note shows that choice cannot be avoided by interpretive systems thinking and action. Interpretive systems thinkers must recognize the politicoideological element of choice in all aspects of their work-on fundamental philosophy, social theory, and methodology. Interpretive Systemology is the most advanced interpretive systems theory available. It is analyzed in these terms.     

网络控制系统的可镇定性和可检测性

基于线性时不变系统的被控对象，建立了控制器为事件驱动时长时延网络控制系统的数学模型，对网络控制系统的均值可镇定性、均方可镇定性、均值可检测性和均方可检测性作了定义，得到了网络控制系统可镇定、可检测的充要条件，最后以不稳定的倒立摆为对象进行了仿真研究．     

Pluralism and the legitimation of systems science

The central message of this paper is that methodological pluralism is essential for the continued legitimation of systems science. This statement is supported by a critique of our notion of complexity. Our traditional view of complexity focuses upon the natural world of object relations and thereby excludes complexities of moral decision making and subjectivity. However, we are now beginning to realize that these realms of complexity are not independent of one another. Indeed, our ability to cope adequately with many of the problems we are currently facing, especially global problems, depends on being able to understand the systemic relationships between all three. Interestingly, we find that different methods have evolved to handle the different forms of complexity. Therefore, if our inquiries are going to have any legitimacy in tackling some of the major issues of today, we must indeed embrace methodological pluralism.     

Flexible systems methodology

To facilitate the use of systems-based techniques and approaches more systematically, these have been related to each other by different schemes in the past. A review of the literature is presented to highlight the development of cohesive frameworks and use of a spectral and integrative paradigm. An outline of “flexible systems methodology” is provided to resolve the end of continuum paradoxes in the literature in a spectral and integrative manner. The methodology is presented in terms of its purpose, philosophy, paradigm, steps, strengths, and limitations. A case study of energy policy analysis is presented to demonstrate the application of Flexible Systems Methodology.     

Total systems intervention: A practical face to critical systems thinking

This is the first exposition of a new methodology (or perhaps meta-methodology) for systems practice known as Total Systems Intervention (TSI). Designed to overcome the weaknesses of hard, cybernetic, and soft systems approaches and build on their strengths, TSI represents a practical face of critical systems thinking. It advocates combining three building blocks-systems metaphors, system of systems methodologies, and individual systems methodologies—in an interactive manner which is deemed to be particularly powerful and fruitful. In this paper the philosophy, principles, and phases of the TSI methodology are set out and two very different examples of its use are provided.