The Systems Approach to the Pluralist Theory of International Relations: A Case Study of the European Union

This article aims at introducing concepts related to the systems approach applied to the international system. First, the authors describe the systems view considering General Systems Theory in order to conceptualize the international systems as well as the Pluralist Theory of International Relations. Based on General Systems Theory, the authors analyze the international systems from the perspective of the Pluralist Theory of International Relations, using a case study on the European Union. The pluralist image of international systems presents important similarities to Systems Theory, as it analyzes the international context, characterized by variety, complexity and dynamics and uses the concepts of object, attribute, inputs and outputs, environment, motivations and process, which enable a better understanding of the international system.

A Systems Theoretical Approach to Interoperability of Information

A rapid process of hybridisation of man and technology, organisation and technology and society and technology is currently sweeping the world. This process requires a way of (scientific) thinking that takes hybrid systems as the starting point. Such an approach makes it increasingly important for hybrid systems to be interlinked, enabling them to exchange and share information through these links. This linking of (hybrid) systems to enable them to exchange and share information can also be denoted as the realisation of interoperability between (hybrid) systems. Five principles from Luhmann’s systems theory can help us understand interoperability. Interoperability enables (hybrid) systems to join random coalitions and networks. The network centric warfare concept is currently the basis for international efforts aimed at the development and application of interoperability that would enable armed forces to act effectively and efficiently. This paper demonstrates what we can learn from Luhmann’s system’s theory.     

研究混沌系统广义同步问题的一种解析方法

提出了采用解析方法研究非线性单向耦合下连续混沌系统的广义同步问题 ,采用适当的耦合方式使两个处于混沌状态的系统的线性组合满足另一个具有稳定平衡点的系统 ,由于新的组合系统趋于稳定平衡点 ,从而实现了混沌的广义同步。将这种方法应用于Lorenz系统的广义同步 ,结果表明该方法有较好的同步效果 ,且对系统参数的变化具有鲁棒性     

A Soft Systems Methodology Approach to Occupational Cancer Control Problem: a Case Study of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran

Petroleum industries of Iran offer some of the best job opportunities within Iranian labor market. However, due to the attributes of the chemicals used in these industries, their staffs are exposed to various risk factors of several chronic diseases. Such exposures might lead to cancer incidence after a decade or two. The Ministry of Petroleum (MoP) runs an organization, namely Petroleum Industry Health Organization (PIHO), which is responsible for the health insurance of the personnel working in Petroleum industries. PIHO and Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) units play fundamental roles in providing the employees with health services during their professional life and retirement period. Yet, these organizations still do not have a system to specify occupational cancer control mechanisms at the MoP. The negative influences of cancer on patients suffering from it as well as its heavy costs of treatment have forced MoP to put measures of coping with this chronic disease in the first priority. This paper aims to define the structure and design a framework for MoP’s occupational cancer control problem as the first step for improving the described situation. Given the presence of various stakeholders and actors, and the wide range of complexities of this problematic situation, we have adopted Soft System Methodology (SSM). We have reached an agreement with the problem owners on a rich picture, CATWOE analysis, root definition and a conceptual model for the way this situation could improve within real world circumstances. The results were obtained through various sessions with practitioner from different departments of MoP, while the conflict of interests was common.     

A Systems Science Approach to Inter-Organisational Complementarity in Tourism SMEs

Systemic Practice and Action Research - This article proposes a model based on the integration of systemic mechanisms such as the soft systems methodology, partial least squares path modelling and...     

Normative Evaluation of Community Projects: A Multimodal Systems Approach

This paper introduces an evaluation method for community projects based on the multimodal systems approach. The method differs from the common mechanistic approach to evaluation in four ways. Firstly, it uses the long-term life (viability) of a community as the ultimate criteria of evaluation. Secondly, it is normative; that is, it focuses on the responsibility of people to their own community and for managing their own lives. Thirdly, it is dynamic; it identifies factors that threaten a community and examines their dynamic link and long-term impact on the community. Fourthly, it evaluates the adequacy of a community activity (good practice) to help ensure its long-term viability. The method is illustrated with a European Union sponsored project.     

矿井优化设计预处理的混合专家系统

介绍了一种用于矿井方案优化设计预处理的混合专家系统——基于神经网络与规则推理的专家系统；阐述了该混合专家系统的基本结构及实现过程，提出输出向量的模糊分类；此外，简要介绍了该系统的实际应用。     

Strategies for the Study of Complex Socio-Economic Systems: an Approach Using Agent-Based Simulation

The present paper proposes a research strategy that integrates top-down and bottom-up approaches, aimed at the study of complex socio-economic systems. Through a theoretical analysis, it is demonstrated throughout the text a strategy that allows the articulation between agent-based simulation approaches and methods of deductive and phenomenological basis capable of providing social sciences with unprecedented accuracy due to ethical and methodological limitations imposed by the study object until then. This is because this type of hybrid approach allows the construction of a deep systemic articulation between the micro and the macro, as advocated by the General Theory of Systems, at the same time as it is supported by systematic experiments that give new light to the study of the socio-economic complexity.     

Dynamic Event-Triggered Control for Nonlinear Systems: A Small-Gain Approach

An event-triggered control(ETC) system transmits data packages and updates control inputs only when the predefined criterion is satisfied. In this way, network communication and computing resources are scheduled more reasonably in contrast to the traditional periodic sampling strategy.Small-gain approach proposed in recent literatures is a new modeling method to deal with nonlinear ETC systems. Different from traditional ETC models, stability criteria are proposed in the form of input to state stability(ISS) gain to design the triggering mechanisms. This paper introduces additional dynamic variables in this model and proposes a small-gain based dynamic event-triggered strategy.Sufficient conditions to guarantee the stability of the system are derived with the help of cyclic-smallgain theorem and Zeno behaviors are avoided to ensure the feasibility of this method in practical applications. Numerical simulations are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.     

A Systems Thinking Approach to Investigating Complex Sugarcane Supply and Processing Systems: Integrating Rich Pictures and Bayesian Networks

Diagnosing problems in complex systems such as integrated sugarcane supply and processing systems (ISSPS) calls for a systematic approach. This is vital given the numerous stakeholders and their various (sometimes conflicting) objectives. Since ISSPS are socially constructed, most diagnostic interventions in the system should consider participatory approaches; developing a shared understanding of the issues and decision-making processes. Failure to source and simultaneously accommodate stakeholder perspectives often leads to interventions on wrong issues and subsequently, policy resistance. Given the context, a diagnostic study was undertaken at a sugarcane milling area in Swaziland to identify problems affecting the ISSPS. Interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders and issues affecting the area were modelled as a rich picture and communicated back to the stakeholders in a report-back meeting held at the milling area. Excessive rainfall, harvest-to-crush delays, sugarcane quality, harvesting and haulage schedules, and machine breakdown were some of the issues identified to affect the milling area. It was recommended in the report-back meeting that machine breakdown be considered for further analysis hence, a Bayesian model for a shredder breakdown was developed. The Bayesian model estimated the probability of shredder breakdown to be to be 0.124. Furthermore, the months of April and May appeared more susceptible than the other months. It was recommended that further analysis of shredder breakdown be conducted, especially alongside rainfall, preventative maintenance and skills of the maintenance personnel. It was also recommended that further research be conducted towards developing strategies that could be used to ensure reliable sugarcane supply at the factory, especially during periods of extreme rainfall. A stockpile feasibility study that considers factors that contributed to the termination of the previous stockpile system could provide some direction.     

战略决策专家系统中的一种新知识表示方法

介绍了战略决策专家系统中一种新的知识表示方法“分解－综合”知识表示法，给出了“分解－综合”表示法的应用实例，指出了“分解－综合”表示法的优点.     

A Critical Systems Approach to Elicit User-Centric Business Intelligence Business Requirements

This paper describes an action research study where the researcher developed and tested an alternative business requirements elicitation approach that enables reflection on business intelligence business requirements from a social/organisational perspective and, accordingly, surfaces user-centric requirements that support development of systems that are technically good and effectuate organisational improvement. It is based on critical systems heuristics, a framework that facilitates participative discourse to surface contributing and consequential factors of a planned social system, i.e. relevant sources of motivation; expertise; inflicting and controlling boundaries; and sources of moral and political justification acting as guardians for all that will be impacted upon by the adjusted social reality caused by the new system. Such an approach is valuable to developers of business intelligence systems; it complements traditional requirements gathering approaches. Present-day organisations require efficacious decision-making capabilities to succeed—business intelligence systems enable efficacious decisions. However, business intelligence systems often fail, at great expenses to organisations. They fail due to social/organisational infeasibility, rather than technical insufficiency; they fail when developers lack adequate understanding of users’ business requirements. Appropriate business requirement specifications entail more than definitions of functional, non-functional and technical attributes of new systems. Business requirements must also capture the social/organisational context of a system, i.e. the impact that it will inevitably have on users and the organisational environment, so as to ensure that it ultimately bring about improvement. The approach developed in this study enables elicitation of user-centric business requirements.

     

Redesigning a Large Supply Chain Management System to Reduce the Government Administration: A Socio-Functional Systems Approach

Redesigning managerial structure and redefining managerial processes in a large supply chain network in national scale is the main focus in this study. The considered supply chain is mainly under governmental management. Reducing the role of the government in managing the supply chain is a strategy pursued in this study. The supply chain is approached as a socioeconomic system and a methodology is designed to address important aspects of the system. The methodology is divided into two streams addressing two main aspects of a socioeconomic system—functional and social. Organizational cybernetics is the core of functional stream. The SCOR model has been used as a well-accepted supply chain management tool alongside the viable system model. The Social stream benefits from ideas of the methods which are used in the soft systems methodology and interactive planning. The methodology is applied in the considered supply chain network in which the final product is chicken meat. While supply chain management is mostly approached from a functional viewpoint, this study also considers its social aspects. Using soft methods as well as functional methods result in a systemic design which is functionally and socially desirable.     

重复囚徒困境博弈中社会合作的仿真

利用Multi-Agent仿真方法建立了一个人工社会,研究了两种个体行为模式下社会合作的演化。在人工社会中有多个智能自适应主体,主体之间进行重复囚徒困境博弈,并采用模仿学习算法改进策略。在基本模型中没有个体的历史行为信息,系统自发演化;在信誉模型中,主体的历史行为累积为信誉,在交互前主体根据对方的信誉临时调整策略。仿真结果显示:系统的演化复杂多样,均有合作的突现和崩溃。对两模型的合作指标比较表明,根据信誉调整策略的行为模式对促进合作无显著效果。     

EXTENDED CASIMIR APPROACH TO CONTROLLED HAMILTONIAN SYSTEMS

In this paper,we first propose an extended Casimir method for energy-shaping.Then itis used to solve some control problems of Hamiltonian systems.To solve the H_x control problem,theenergy function of a Hamiltonian system is shaped to such a form that could be a candidate solution ofHJI inequality.Next,the energy function is shaped as a candidate of control ISS-Lyapunov function,and then the input-to-state stabilization of port-controlled Hamiltonian systems is achieved.Someeasily verifiable sufficient conditions are presented.     

一种基于多主体仿真的制度有效性分析方法研究

分析了仿真技术在制度有效性分析方面的研究现状。介绍了复杂适应系统理论由来及特性。指出了复杂适应系统及其仿真模型在制度有效性分析方面的优势。提出了基于复杂适应系统模型的制度有效性仿真分析方法。最后展示了一个实际应用。     

线性时变经济系统分支稳定性研究:生存理论方法

研究线性时变经济系统的分支稳定性问题 .定义了描述系统状态约束的集值映射 ,利用生存理论 ,分别给出了在状态约束为光滑和非光滑时系统分支渐近稳定的充要条件 .     

Reconciling Effectiveness and Equity in Performance Management: A Stakeholder Synthesis Approach to Organizational Systems Design

Complex organizational systems have been studied using hard and soft epistemologies and each has contributed to understanding based on its logic of enquiry. However, both fail to engage fully with systems in their context and are increasingly recognized as such by researchers and practitioners. This paper reviews the epistemological debate and proposes that accommodation between quantitative and qualitative disciplines is both possible and appropriate. A case study of performance management systems demonstrates the synergistic benefits of integration within a mode of organizational enquiry based on stakeholder analysis and soft systems methodology. This enables the development of a stakeholder systems model of performance management that incorporates stakeholder consensus, organizational justice, and system effectiveness considerations.     

A Holistic Approach for Designing Human-Centric Trust Systems

Online trust systems, albeit existing as technical implementations, aim to translate the role that trust has in the traditional world onto the virtual platforms. Establishing the inter-dependence between these systems and the human-factor is essential for reducing, but more importantly for understanding the inherent complexity of the open social platforms, and for improving the user-experience and system-performance. This work determines the systemic features of trust and introduces a novel framework of design-properties based on the principles of General Systems Theory. We determine the systemic properties which lack in the current technical solutions, and incorporate social factors into the design-guidelines of trust systems. We introduce four influence-factors and demonstrate that accounting for those factors leads to compliance with the generic system-principles. Finally, we employ case study analysis following the premises of case study research established in the social science literature. By performing semantic analysis of the state of the art on trust systems, we are able to identify two semantic clusters to which trust research belongs, and to choose in a non-random manner the representative case studies for evaluation upon our framework. To our knowledge, this is the first study applying fundamental social science principles from General Systems Theory and case-study research for the purpose of theory-building and evaluation of technical human-centric solutions.