At a conference with the Management Science society of Ireland the following concepts were found ... more At a conference with the Management Science society of Ireland the following concepts were found to create some of a “grounded formal theory” 1 about operational analysis: 1. A complexity of situation influencing complexity of analytic approach, 2. Purposes and ambitions in the operational research activities and 3. Moods of appreciation in the relations between the different constituent acts of an operational research project.
International Professional Communication Conference, 2005
The problems of systems development have been called a chronic affliction with no apparent cure. ... more The problems of systems development have been called a chronic affliction with no apparent cure. We see issues of misunderstanding: misunderstanding in the practice of communication and misunderstanding of the nature of the communication at the heart of this problem. We illustrate the standard model of systems requirements, a reductionist model based on the conduit metaphor of communications, which minimises
This article reviews the Irish experience of plurilingual aspiration from three perspectives. It ... more This article reviews the Irish experience of plurilingual aspiration from three perspectives. It first relates the case for preserving and learning the Irish language to Ireland's cultural development as an independent nation, as distinct from its struggles for political freedom and economic self-determination. It next considers the broader context of the value of learning or knowing a second language. It then considers Irish secondary schoolgoers' critical attitudes to the learning of Irish and to government policy on the learning of the Irish language. It concludes that it is wrong to consider global vehicular languages such as English and cultural languages such as Irish as competing for single-language dominance. Instead, there should be an early initiation into multiple language systems, deepening people's linguistic diversity and plurilingual competence. This should be combined with a contentbased integrated approach concentrating on cultural value, history, and literature. Languages should be seen as vectors of continuity and of connection with a specific identity, a specific past and a specific place. Ultimately, as English becomes increasingly and even exclusively vehicular, 'non-global' languages like Irish will be valued as embodying community and relational values, and as channels serving people's inter-communication, connectedness and developmentat deeper levels than the physical, political and economic.
International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making, May 1, 2016
The priority-pointing procedure (PPP) is a systemic thinking-based approach for multiple criteria... more The priority-pointing procedure (PPP) is a systemic thinking-based approach for multiple criteria decision making (MCDM). PPP helps to synthesize responses to open-ended questions about the strategic direction that an organization should take. We applied PPP to a Management Information Systems-based Management Innovation in Fiscal Department (MIS-MIFD) project in Shaanxi Provincial Government’s Department of Fiscal Affairs. PPP surveys were conducted in five regions in Shaanxi Province using the same research questions. The combination of all five surveys into one survey for Shaanxi Province showed that the results in each county can be compared to identify their particular different problems. The analysis shows that PPP can help to obtain balanced integrated solutions when solving strategic direction problems in management and give practical implications. From a scientific research point of view, this study has provided unique support for the underlying nomological theory on which PPP is based. The findings of this study indicate that coherent groups of decision-makers do have a “collective mind”, and this can be accessed using a nomological procedure. This research can add knowledge to the understanding of nomological theory and extend the application of it in opinion mining and decision making in the context of IT.
The implications of the structure of qualitative-decision-making for multi-criteria decision anal... more The implications of the structure of qualitative-decision-making for multi-criteria decision analysis are considered. It provides a basis for understanding qualitative distinctions between criteria and, consequently, their proper structuring and grouping to facilitate comparisons. The AliP approach of using relative comparisons is justified. The concept of a qualitative decision function is introduced and shown to correspond to the Cobb-Douglas or power function. It is explained why it is inappropriate to use the AHP to synthesise qualitatively identical attributes of an alternative. This should be done using the multi-attribute utility technique. The two techniques are proven to be complimentary and can be synthesised. Normalisations other than the geometric mean are shown to be unnecessary. The common concerns about rank reversal are dealt with. The importance of developing the thinking process of the decision-maker is discussed. The results of experiments with the proposed structuring approach are outlined.
Central European Journal of Operations Research, 2016
In this paper, we present the results of an empirical study that was conducted to demonstrate how... more In this paper, we present the results of an empirical study that was conducted to demonstrate how the Structured MCDM methodology which is based on Nomology, the science of the laws of the mind, could be used to support problem structuring and improve rural community participation in a developing country in Africa. The results support the view that a model which is based on a generic structure is flexible and transferable to similar problem contexts and various situations across cultures and beyond national borders; and that it can easily support distributed participatory decision-making or be integrated into a Participatory Decision Support System.
A system is proposed for analysing qualitative decision-making. Its structure is based on dichoto... more A system is proposed for analysing qualitative decision-making. Its structure is based on dichotomous answers to simple questions. What should be done? Has it more of a planning emphasis, or has it more to do with putting plans into effect? Where should it be done? Is it more in the place of the decision-making activity, or has it more to do with the people involved? These lead to the creation of four general kinds of activity: proposition, perception, pull and push, which are shown to be phases in a cycle. Corresponding primary feelings ...
Systemic Practice and Action Research, Feb 1, 2005
This paper describes a form of management epistemology, and suggests that it be called Decision R... more This paper describes a form of management epistemology, and suggests that it be called Decision Research, since it is primarily based on what can be learned from how managers make decisions in practice. The paper proposes that Decision Research be founded on generic cognitive structures that show a high degree of stability from east to west, old to new. These are described by Nomology, the science of the laws of the mind, and so have a positivist flavor. The paper develops, through an understanding of settled practice, how ...
A system is proposed for analysing development decision-making in management. Its structure is ba... more A system is proposed for analysing development decision-making in management. Its structure is based on dichotomous answers to simple questions: What should be done? Where should it be done? These lead to the creation of four general kinds of activity: proposition, perception, pull and push, which are phases in a cycle. Development decision-making arises when the decision possessor is subjectively involved as the participant, in which case the pull activity does not occur. Development decision-making is shown to be ...
Journal of the Operational Research Society, Jun 9, 2004
Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is presented as an eight-stage process of shaping informati... more Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is presented as an eight-stage process of shaping information that satisfies the following criteria. The information should be accessible, differentiable, abstractable, understandable, verifiable, measurable, refinable and usable. For some stages, the decision-advisor should emphasize doing the stage convincingly by carrying out first its technical aspects, then relating to the context of the problem, and finally by taking into account the particular situation of the decision. For ...
European Journal of Operational Research, Mar 16, 2000
Relative measurement is considered in the context of Nomology, a theory that defines and relates ... more Relative measurement is considered in the context of Nomology, a theory that defines and relates categories of activity that arise in qualitative decision making. A nomological variable is defined to correspond to the amount, weight or importance of any naturally forming cluster or category of qualitative information. This article shows that, in general, the mind measures nomological variables relatively, and changes in a nomological variable relative to its current value. The way the mind assesses the relationship between two related ...
Purpose–This paper aims to relate Taoist Yin-Yang thinking to Western nomology in terms of trust ... more Purpose–This paper aims to relate Taoist Yin-Yang thinking to Western nomology in terms of trust and trust building, seeking to explore the question of how trust impacts on conflict management. Design/methodology/approach–A moderating model of trust in conflict management is proposed. Investigations and observations using primary and secondary data are described. Three cases are presented to explain the moderating effects of adjusting activities and trust on conflict and negotiation.
Systemic Practice and Action Research, Jun 1, 2001
We use a meta-decision-making approach to show that parallels can be drawn between an Oriental sy... more We use a meta-decision-making approach to show that parallels can be drawn between an Oriental systems methodology, wuli, shili, renli (WSR), and the adjusting, convincing, and committing dimensions in nomology, a generic metamodel that is based in decision science. We then use the match between them to propose a metalinguistic bridge between China and the West that could aid in the communication and sharing of systems experiences. We use the bridge to consider some of the interpretations of Chinese systems experiences in ...
At a conference with the Management Science society of Ireland the following concepts were found ... more At a conference with the Management Science society of Ireland the following concepts were found to create some of a “grounded formal theory” 1 about operational analysis: 1. A complexity of situation influencing complexity of analytic approach, 2. Purposes and ambitions in the operational research activities and 3. Moods of appreciation in the relations between the different constituent acts of an operational research project.
International Professional Communication Conference, 2005
The problems of systems development have been called a chronic affliction with no apparent cure. ... more The problems of systems development have been called a chronic affliction with no apparent cure. We see issues of misunderstanding: misunderstanding in the practice of communication and misunderstanding of the nature of the communication at the heart of this problem. We illustrate the standard model of systems requirements, a reductionist model based on the conduit metaphor of communications, which minimises
This article reviews the Irish experience of plurilingual aspiration from three perspectives. It ... more This article reviews the Irish experience of plurilingual aspiration from three perspectives. It first relates the case for preserving and learning the Irish language to Ireland's cultural development as an independent nation, as distinct from its struggles for political freedom and economic self-determination. It next considers the broader context of the value of learning or knowing a second language. It then considers Irish secondary schoolgoers' critical attitudes to the learning of Irish and to government policy on the learning of the Irish language. It concludes that it is wrong to consider global vehicular languages such as English and cultural languages such as Irish as competing for single-language dominance. Instead, there should be an early initiation into multiple language systems, deepening people's linguistic diversity and plurilingual competence. This should be combined with a contentbased integrated approach concentrating on cultural value, history, and literature. Languages should be seen as vectors of continuity and of connection with a specific identity, a specific past and a specific place. Ultimately, as English becomes increasingly and even exclusively vehicular, 'non-global' languages like Irish will be valued as embodying community and relational values, and as channels serving people's inter-communication, connectedness and developmentat deeper levels than the physical, political and economic.
International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making, May 1, 2016
The priority-pointing procedure (PPP) is a systemic thinking-based approach for multiple criteria... more The priority-pointing procedure (PPP) is a systemic thinking-based approach for multiple criteria decision making (MCDM). PPP helps to synthesize responses to open-ended questions about the strategic direction that an organization should take. We applied PPP to a Management Information Systems-based Management Innovation in Fiscal Department (MIS-MIFD) project in Shaanxi Provincial Government’s Department of Fiscal Affairs. PPP surveys were conducted in five regions in Shaanxi Province using the same research questions. The combination of all five surveys into one survey for Shaanxi Province showed that the results in each county can be compared to identify their particular different problems. The analysis shows that PPP can help to obtain balanced integrated solutions when solving strategic direction problems in management and give practical implications. From a scientific research point of view, this study has provided unique support for the underlying nomological theory on which PPP is based. The findings of this study indicate that coherent groups of decision-makers do have a “collective mind”, and this can be accessed using a nomological procedure. This research can add knowledge to the understanding of nomological theory and extend the application of it in opinion mining and decision making in the context of IT.
The implications of the structure of qualitative-decision-making for multi-criteria decision anal... more The implications of the structure of qualitative-decision-making for multi-criteria decision analysis are considered. It provides a basis for understanding qualitative distinctions between criteria and, consequently, their proper structuring and grouping to facilitate comparisons. The AliP approach of using relative comparisons is justified. The concept of a qualitative decision function is introduced and shown to correspond to the Cobb-Douglas or power function. It is explained why it is inappropriate to use the AHP to synthesise qualitatively identical attributes of an alternative. This should be done using the multi-attribute utility technique. The two techniques are proven to be complimentary and can be synthesised. Normalisations other than the geometric mean are shown to be unnecessary. The common concerns about rank reversal are dealt with. The importance of developing the thinking process of the decision-maker is discussed. The results of experiments with the proposed structuring approach are outlined.
Central European Journal of Operations Research, 2016
In this paper, we present the results of an empirical study that was conducted to demonstrate how... more In this paper, we present the results of an empirical study that was conducted to demonstrate how the Structured MCDM methodology which is based on Nomology, the science of the laws of the mind, could be used to support problem structuring and improve rural community participation in a developing country in Africa. The results support the view that a model which is based on a generic structure is flexible and transferable to similar problem contexts and various situations across cultures and beyond national borders; and that it can easily support distributed participatory decision-making or be integrated into a Participatory Decision Support System.
A system is proposed for analysing qualitative decision-making. Its structure is based on dichoto... more A system is proposed for analysing qualitative decision-making. Its structure is based on dichotomous answers to simple questions. What should be done? Has it more of a planning emphasis, or has it more to do with putting plans into effect? Where should it be done? Is it more in the place of the decision-making activity, or has it more to do with the people involved? These lead to the creation of four general kinds of activity: proposition, perception, pull and push, which are shown to be phases in a cycle. Corresponding primary feelings ...
Systemic Practice and Action Research, Feb 1, 2005
This paper describes a form of management epistemology, and suggests that it be called Decision R... more This paper describes a form of management epistemology, and suggests that it be called Decision Research, since it is primarily based on what can be learned from how managers make decisions in practice. The paper proposes that Decision Research be founded on generic cognitive structures that show a high degree of stability from east to west, old to new. These are described by Nomology, the science of the laws of the mind, and so have a positivist flavor. The paper develops, through an understanding of settled practice, how ...
A system is proposed for analysing development decision-making in management. Its structure is ba... more A system is proposed for analysing development decision-making in management. Its structure is based on dichotomous answers to simple questions: What should be done? Where should it be done? These lead to the creation of four general kinds of activity: proposition, perception, pull and push, which are phases in a cycle. Development decision-making arises when the decision possessor is subjectively involved as the participant, in which case the pull activity does not occur. Development decision-making is shown to be ...
Journal of the Operational Research Society, Jun 9, 2004
Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is presented as an eight-stage process of shaping informati... more Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is presented as an eight-stage process of shaping information that satisfies the following criteria. The information should be accessible, differentiable, abstractable, understandable, verifiable, measurable, refinable and usable. For some stages, the decision-advisor should emphasize doing the stage convincingly by carrying out first its technical aspects, then relating to the context of the problem, and finally by taking into account the particular situation of the decision. For ...
European Journal of Operational Research, Mar 16, 2000
Relative measurement is considered in the context of Nomology, a theory that defines and relates ... more Relative measurement is considered in the context of Nomology, a theory that defines and relates categories of activity that arise in qualitative decision making. A nomological variable is defined to correspond to the amount, weight or importance of any naturally forming cluster or category of qualitative information. This article shows that, in general, the mind measures nomological variables relatively, and changes in a nomological variable relative to its current value. The way the mind assesses the relationship between two related ...
Purpose–This paper aims to relate Taoist Yin-Yang thinking to Western nomology in terms of trust ... more Purpose–This paper aims to relate Taoist Yin-Yang thinking to Western nomology in terms of trust and trust building, seeking to explore the question of how trust impacts on conflict management. Design/methodology/approach–A moderating model of trust in conflict management is proposed. Investigations and observations using primary and secondary data are described. Three cases are presented to explain the moderating effects of adjusting activities and trust on conflict and negotiation.
Systemic Practice and Action Research, Jun 1, 2001
We use a meta-decision-making approach to show that parallels can be drawn between an Oriental sy... more We use a meta-decision-making approach to show that parallels can be drawn between an Oriental systems methodology, wuli, shili, renli (WSR), and the adjusting, convincing, and committing dimensions in nomology, a generic metamodel that is based in decision science. We then use the match between them to propose a metalinguistic bridge between China and the West that could aid in the communication and sharing of systems experiences. We use the bridge to consider some of the interpretations of Chinese systems experiences in ...
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Papers by Cathal Brugha