An Anthology of the Socio-Technical Systems Design (STSD) Paradigm : from Autonomous Work Groups to Democratic Dialogue and Integral Organizational Renewal
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Sociotechnical Systems and Ethics in the Large
Sociotechnical Systems and Ethics in the Large Amit K. Chopra Munindar P. Singh Lancaster University North Carolina State University Lancaster LA1 4WA, UK Raleigh, NC 27695-8206, USA [email protected] [email protected] Abstract question has inspired various versions of “do no harm to hu- mans” maxims, from Asimov to Bostrom and Yudkowsky Advances in AI techniques and computing platforms have (2014). And, partly this interest stems from imagining that triggered a lively and expanding discourse on ethical decision-making by autonomous agents. Much recent work agents are deliberative entities who will make choices much in AI concentrates on the challenges of moral decision mak- in the same way humans do: faced with a situation that de- ing from a decision-theoretic perspective, and especially the mands deliberation, an agent will line up its choices and representation of various ethical dilemmas. Such approaches make the best one that is also the most ethical. The trol- may be useful but in general are not productive because moral ley problem, a moral dilemma that has been the subject of decision making is as context-driven as other forms of deci- extensive philosophical discussion, has been discussed ex- sion making, if not more. In contrast, we consider ethics not tensively in the context of self-driving vehicles (Bonnefon, from the standpoint of an individual agent but of the wider Shariff, and Rahwan 2016). sociotechnical systems (STS) in which the agent operates. Concurrently, there has been an expanding body of work Our contribution in this paper is the conception of ethical STS in the broad AI tradition that investigates designing and governance founded on that takes into account stakeholder verifying, not individual agents, but sociotechnical systems values, normative constraints on agents, and outcomes (states of the STS) that obtain due to actions taken by agents. -
Action Research As Process: the Two Stage Model for Active Adaptation
Action Research as Process: The two stage model for active adaptation Donald W. de Guerre Department of Applied Human Sciences, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 Canada Office: 514-848-2270 Fax: 514-848-2262 Home Voice/Fax: 514-482-5677 Cell: 514-214-1692 E-mail: [email protected] 2 The Action Research Paradigm Reason and Bradley (2001) suggest that it is premature to define action research, and they suggest it is “… a participatory, democratic process concerned with developing practical knowing in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes, grounded in a participatory worldview that is currently emerging (Reason and Bradley, 2001 p.1).” Indeed to try and further define action research would be stifle its development (van Beinum, Faucheux & van der Vlist, 1996). It is not going to far to suggest that action research is a radical enough departure from traditional academic forms of scholarship so as to take on some of the characteristics of a new social science paradigm. There are many variants of action research. Gloster (2000) outlines the socio-ecological systems action research model developed by Fred Emery (1981, reprinted in Trist, 1997). He differentiates between action research (ar) which improves the practical affairs of a particular social system and Action Research (AR) that in addition contributes to social scientific knowledge. To describe socio-ecological AR, following Peirce, Emery demonstrated that the type of logical inference required to generate concepts, and hypotheses about their connections, was based primarily on the logic of abduction: Peirce demonstrated that there were three forms of logical inference and not just the two, deduction and induction, that were generally supposed. -
QUESTION BANK MBA SEMESTER 4 Vol
QUESTION BANK MBA SEMESTER 4 Vol. III 1 FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION The Questions contained in this booklet have been prepared by the faculty of the Institute from the sources believed to be reliable. Neither the Institute nor the faculty gives any guarantee with respect to completeness or accuracy of the contents contained in the booklet and shall in no event be liable for any errors, omissions or damages arising out of use of the matter contained in the booklet. The Institute and the faculty specifically disclaim any implied warranty as to merchantability or fitness of the information for any particular purpose. 2 QUESTION BANK ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT MS - 230 3 QUESTION BANK ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT MS- 230 UNIT I TEST YOURSKILLS Multiple Choice Questions 1. Organization Development is aimed at:- (a) Enhancing congruence between organizational structure, processes, strategy, people and culture (b) Developing new and creative organizational solutions (c) Developing the organization’s self renewing capacity (d) All of the above 2. OD values generally tend to be: - (a) Humanistic (b) Democratic (c) Optimistic (d) Only a and b (e) All of the above 3. The Unfreezing-Moving-Refreezing model of change was given by: - (a) Kurt Lewin (b) George Litwin (c) RensisLikert (d) Jane Mouton 4. A change that alters some features of an organization is referred to as: - (a) Transformational Change (b) Structural Change (c) Adaptive Change (d) None of the Above 5. A change that alters the fundamental character of the organization is called: - (a) Incremental Change (b) First Order Change (c) Discontinuous Change 4 (d) None of the Above 6. -
The Social Engagement of Social Science a Series in Three Volumes
The Social Engagement of Social Science A series in three volumes Volume I: The Socio-Psychological Perspective Volume II: The Socio-Technical Perspective Volume III: The Socio-Ecological Perspective The University of Pennsylvania Press joins the Editors in expressing their thanks to the Ecology of Work Conferences and to the STS Round Table for their generosity in supporting the production of these volumes and to the Busch Center for underwriting the publication. The Social Engagement of Social Science A Tavistock Anthology Edited by Eric Trist, Fred Emery, and Hugh Murray Assistant Editor: Beulah Trist Volume III: The Socio-Ecological Perspective PENN University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia Copyright © 1997 University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 Permission is acknowledged to reprint portions and excerpts from published materials: Russell Ackoff, Redesigning the Future (New York: Wiley, 1974). Dorwin Cartwright and Frank Harary, "A Graph-Theoretic Approach to the Investigation of System Environment Relationships." Journal ofMathematical Sociology 5 (1977): 87-1 I I. Fred Emery, Futures We Are In (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 1977). Fred Emery, "Methodological Premises of Social Forecasting," Annals ofthe American Academy ofPolitical and Social Science 412 (1974): 97-115. Fred Emery, "Policy: Appearance and Reality," A Systems-Based Approach to Policymaking, ed. Kenyon B. de Greene (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993). Fred Emery, "Some Observations on Workplace Reform: The Australian Experience," International Journal of Employment Studies 2, 2 (1994): 327-42. Fred Emery and Merrelyn Emery, A Choice ofFutures (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 1976). -
Energy Research & Social Science
Energy Research & Social Science 70 (2020) 101617 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Energy Research & Social Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/erss Review Sociotechnical agendas: Reviewing future directions for energy and climate T research ⁎ Benjamin K. Sovacoola, , David J. Hessb, Sulfikar Amirc, Frank W. Geelsd, Richard Hirshe, Leandro Rodriguez Medinaf, Clark Millerg, Carla Alvial Palavicinoh, Roopali Phadkei, Marianne Ryghaugj, Johan Schoth, Antti Silvastj, Jennie Stephensk, Andy Stirlingl, Bruno Turnheimm, Erik van der Vleutenn, Harro van Lenteo, Steven Yearleyp a University of Sussex, United Kingdom and Aarhus University, Denmark b Vanderbilt University, United States c Nanyang Technological University, Singapore d The University of Manchester, United Kingdom e Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States f Universidad de las Americas Puebla, Mexico g Arizona State University, United States h Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands i Macalester College, United States j Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway k Northeastern University, United States l University of Sussex, United Kingdom m Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Sciences Innovations Sociétés, France n Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands o Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands p The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: The field of science and technology studies (STS) has introduced and developed a “sociotechnical” perspective Science and technology studies that has been taken up by many disciplines and areas of inquiry. The aims and objectives of this study are Sociotechnical systems threefold: to interrogate which sociotechnical concepts or tools from STS are useful at better understanding Science technology and society energy-related social science, to reflect on prominent themes and topics within those approaches, and to identify Sociology of scientific knowledge current research gaps and directions for the future. -
Terms of Engagement: Looking Backwards and Forwards at The
ERIC MILLER Annual Memorial Lecture Saturday 17th March 2012 by DAVID ARMSTRONG Terms of Engagement: Looking backwards and forwards at the Tavistock Enterprise1 “Whether our country, of all countries, and our group of all other groups in the country, are capable of meeting the challenge of our times will only be determined by what we ourselves do”. (Bion 1948) When Lionel Stapley first invited me to give this Memorial Lecture, in honour of a man who had been my guide and mentor near on 50 years ago, I hesitated. I had recently retired from my position at the Tavistock. I didn’t think I had anything new to say and didn’t really want to say the same things again in a different way. Lionel, very kindly, persisted: “think about it and get back”. I did and I have. Why? In the interim a number of things had begun to jostle together in my mind. Michael Rustin had invited me to work with him on a paper to be called ‘What happened to democratic leadership?’, to give at one of the Tavistock Policy Seminars at Swiss Cottage. This had taken me back to the early days of the Tavistock, both Clinic and Institute, post 1945 and in particular to the ideas of industrial and organisational democracy that were to inform one major strand of the Institute’s work throughout the first two to three decades. Then, more or less simultaneously, Mannie Sher asked if I would be interested to join a team of colleagues who had the idea of running daily Social Dreaming events at the Finsbury Square location of the Occupy movement, Tent City. -
Science & Technology Studies
ALEXANDRA HOFMÄNNER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES ELSEWHERE A Postcolonial Programme SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES In April 2017, scientists took to the streets in a historically unprecedented Global March for Science. The event was seen as symbolic of a crisis in the relationship of science and society. This book considers the Global March ELSEWHERE for Science from a postcolonial perspective to inquire into the toolkit that the academic field of Science & Technology Studies (STS) has to offer. It HOFMÄNNER ALEXANDRA argues that new concepts and analytical approaches are necessary to in- A POSTCOLONIAL vestigate current global dynamics in science, technology and society, so as to deliver insights that the recent expansion of STS scholars beyond PROGRAMME Western Europe and North America alone is unlikely to provide. The book presents a Programme in Science Studies Elsewhere (SSE) to demonstrate the urgent need to carry postcolonial issues right into the centre of STS’s intellectual programme. Hofmänner possesses a potent antidote for the field’s inability to see science and technology outside of European or North American experiences. Rayvon Fouché, Professor and Director, American Studies, Purdue University, USA A compelling case for revisiting some of the traditional assumptions in the field of STS. Prof. Dr. Sabine Maasen, Director of the Munich Center for Technology in Society Alexandra Hofmänner is assistant professor in Science & Technology ELSEWHERE STUDIES TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Studies ( ST S) at the University of Basel, Switzerland. She received a PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ( ETH Zürich ) and has carried out extensive research in Switzerland and South Africa. www.schwabeverlag.de Alexandra Hofmänner Science & Technology Studies Elsewhere A Postcolonial Programme Schwabe Verlag Published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft. -
An Application of BS ISO 27500:2016
USER EXPERIENCE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN COM CITIZEN SCIENCE A sociotechnical system approach to virtual citizen J science: an application of BS ISO 27500:2016 Robert J. Houghton, James Sprinks, Jessica Wardlaw, Steven Bamford and Stuart Marsh Abstract We discuss the potential application to virtual citizen science of a recent standard (BS ISO 27500:2016 “The human-centred organisation”) which encourages the adoption of a sociotechnical systems perspective across a wide range of businesses, organizations and ventures. Key tenets of the standard concern taking a total systems approach, capitalizing on individual differences as a strength, making usability and accessibility strategic objectives, valuing personnel and paying attention to ethical and values-led elements of the project in terms of being open and trustworthy, social responsibility and health and wellbeing. Drawing upon our experience of projects in our laboratory and the wider literature, we outline the principles identified in the standard and offer citizen science themed interpretations and examples of possible responses. Keywords Citizen science; Participation and science governance DOI https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18010201 Submitted: 4th April 2018 Accepted: 20th November 2018 Published: 17th January 2019 Introduction There is an increasing interest in citizen science as an object of study in its own right and in investigations concerned with how to improve the implementation of citizen science projects in the future [Jordan et al., 2015]. Amongst the key issues are maximizing the quality of volunteer performance [Sprinks et al., 2017], motivating participants to sustain their contributions and to facilitate meeting other project aims also dependent on engagement, typically in terms of scientific outreach and education [e.g., Constant and Roberts, 2017; Dickerson-Lange et al., 2016]. -
Eric Trist Quality of Working Life and Community Development1
Eric Trist Quality of Working Life and Community Development1 Some Reflections on the Jamestown Experience Many of those concerned with quality of working life (QWL) innovations in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including myself, were surprised at the difficulties encountered in diffusing such innovations from one organization to another. Experience suggests that such diffusion occurs largely through personal contacts between employees of both organizations. When organizations are located some distance from one another, the number of persons in one organization who can have direct contact with those in another is severely limited. In a relatively small community, however, many persons in a variety of organizations can more easily be in personal contact with one another. This led me to predict that the diffusion of innovations would be accelerated in Jamestown, New York, where the community had formed an area- wide labor-management committee to promote and develop the city's industries. In the early 1970s, however, QWL was considered novel and many were uncertain as to its outcomes, especially with respect to performance. The idea that a new paradigm of work was beginning to emerge (Emery, 1977), as suggested by extensive developments in Norway and Sweden, had scarcely taken root in the United States, even though a federally supported program had just been inaugurated by the National Commission on Productivity and Work Quality (NCPWQ). Under these conditions, QWL could not be expected to be the leading emphasis of an innovative effort in industrial and economic development at the community level. In the case of an effort that had already been initiated, though, I considered that QWL might become linked to it. -
A Fundamental Challenge Across Complex Systems NSF
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository Valuing the Commons: A Fundamental Challenge across Complex Systems NSF/SBE 2020 White paper on Future Research in the Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences By Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Dean and Professor, School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Chris Lawson, Chief Scientist, Synexxuis Corporation Abstract The political, economic and social landscapes of the 21st Century are increasingly dominated by complex, sociotechnical systems that are essential to human civilization, yet incompletely addressed with existing theory, tools, methods, and policies. Illustrative systems are found in transportation, information, finance, energy, health care, education, disaster response, and supply chains. Social, behavioral and economic sciences in the 20 th Century were focused on hierarchical corporations and expanding markets – the organizational and institutional underpinnings of the industrial revolution. Twentieth Century successes were tempered by various “tragedies of the commons” (such as negative impacts on working conditions, human dignity, the environment, and developing economies). In the 21 st Century, increasing interdependencies and accelerating rates of change are dramatically expanding the ways in which complex “systems” shape organizations and markets. Multi-level research incorporating the systems context and systems-level policies have great transformative potential – addressing externalities and expanding how we “value the commons.” This white paper highlights layers and networks of aligned (or misaligned) stakeholders, which are at the heart of these systems. Orienting social, behavioral, and economic sciences and public polices to better address stakeholders in complex systems is essential to generating new forms of value for society and mitigating catastrophic systems failures. -
Explaining Sociotechnical Transitions a Critical Realist Perspective
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online Research Policy 47 (2018) 1267–1282 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/respol Explaining sociotechnical transitions: A critical realist perspective T Steve Sorrell Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand, Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9SL, UK ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: This paper identifies and evaluates the explicit and implicit philosophical assumptions underlying the so-called Multilevel perspective multilevel perspective on sociotechnical transitions (MLP). These include assumptions about the nature of reality Critical realism (ontology), the status of claims about that reality (epistemology) and the appropriate choice of research methods Emergence The paper assesses the consistency of these assumptions with the philosophical tradition of critical realism and Process theory uses this tradition to highlight a number of potential weaknesses of the MLP. These include: the problematic conception of social structure and the misleading priority given to intangible rules; the tendency to use theory as a heuristic device rather than causal explanation; the ambition to develop an extremely versatile framework rather than testing competing explanations; the relative neglect of the necessity or contingency of particular causal mechanisms; and the reliance upon single, historical case studies with insufficient use of comparative methods. However, the paper also concludes that the flexibility of the MLP allows room for reconciliation, and provides some suggestions on how that could be achieved – including proposing an alternative, critical realist interpretation of sociotechnical systems. 1. Introduction foundational assumptions (e.g. -
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