An Agent-Based Collaborative Approach to Graphing Causal Maps for Situation Formulation

We provide a background discussion of group support systems (GSS) research into aiding strategic management processes. GSS support for strategic management has been primarily focused on qualitative analysis and the communication processes surrounding strategic planning. While fully developed in common decision-support systems, powerful simulation modeling and quantitative analytical tools have been difficult to integrate into GSS system configurations because they require increased cognitive load and expert modeling support, a central problem now addressed by collaboration engineering. A conceptual and functional bridge is needed to integrate the qualitative and quantitative approaches, reduce cognitive load, and provide modeling support that does not require experts. Acar’s analytical causal mapping is introduced as a structured method for situational formulation and analysis of unstructured strategic problems. This form of causal mapping includes specific processes and analytical approaches offering cognitive modeling support for problem formulation. Its computational capabilities provide support for Systems Thinking approaches in a system easy to learn and use. Using the methodological template of the design science paradigm, we contribute a prototype system for the development and simulation of causal maps that uses RePast 2.0, a Java agent-based modeling (ABM) and simulation library

Design science aplicada às pesquisas em administração: reflexões a partir do recente histórico de publicações internacionais

A abordagem pragmática Design Science aplica-se à geração de conhecimento científico a partir do estudo rigoroso de artefatos aplicados à resolução de problemas. Na administração, observa-se sua maior adoção em pesquisas voltadas à gestão de sistemas de informação. No Brasil, no entanto, não há registro da prática desta abordagem. Este cenário justifica o objetivo da presente pesquisa: descrever as características centrais da abordagem design science com a apresentação de exemplos de pesquisas conduzidas no campo da administração que sejam, preferencialmente, distintas da área de gestão de sistemas de informação. Utilizando-se da análise de conteúdo de artigos recentes que adotaram a abordagem, discutem-se sete diretrizes tomadas como referências para avaliar a adequação e respeito aos fundamentos da abordagem design science. Concluiu-se que a observação e consideração das diretrizes pelos pesquisadores são muito desafiadoras, pois demandarão competências múltiplas: percepção do problema e sua importância para o ambiente de negócios; bom discernimento do artefato proposto como elemento da solução; domínio de técnicas que assegurem o rigor necessário à validação do artefato; profundo conhecimento da área que o problema e o artefato estão inseridos; boa comunicação para divulgação junto ao público empresarial e tecnológico.The pragmatic Design Science (DS) approach is applicable to the generation of scientific knowledge starting from the rigorous study of artifacts used in the resolution of problems. In the business management, a larger adoption is observed in researches in the area of management information systems (MIS). In Brazil, however, there is not registration of the practice of this approach. This scenery justifies the objective: to describe the central characteristics of the DS approach with the presentation of examples of researches driven in the field of the business management out of MSI. It was used the analysis of content of recent papers that adopted this approach, discussed seven guidelines takings as references to evaluate the adaptation and respect to the foundations of the DS approach. It was concluded that the observation and consideration of the guidelines for the researchers are very challenging because they demand such multiple competences as: perception of the problem and its importance for the business; good discernment of the artifact proposed as element of the solution; domain of techniques that assure the necessary rigidity to the validation of the artifact; deep knowledge of the area that the problem and the artifact are inserted; good communication for popularization close to the managerial and technological public

Exploring the Intersection of the Digital Divide and Artificial Intelligence: A Hermeneutic Literature Review

Given the rapid advancements in information communication technology (ICT), researchers and practitioners need to understand the impact that emerging phenomena, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have on existing social and economic challenges. We conducted a hermeneutic literature review to present the current state of the digital divide, developments in AI, and AI’s potential impact on the digital divide. We propose three theoretical framings: 1) conceptualizing the divide, 2) modeling the divide, and 3) analyzing the divide. These framings synthesize the digital divide’s essence in relation to AI and provide the foundation for a socio-technical research agenda for the digital divide in light of the evolving phenomena of AI

Domain design principles for managing complexity in conceptual modeling

Complexity is a problem that can be found in many aspects of research that deals with design. In particular, complexity is found in various business processes that must be modeled and represented in a meaningful way. One of the ways to address complexity is by using decomposition, for which a number of decomposition principles have been proposed. However, there are two domain specific areas in which these principles are lacking: the scope and the context of the problem. This research addresses this problem by deriving two new principles for managing complexity, and evaluates the proposed principles through an example case to illustrate their potential use

Participatory Systems Analysis An Introductory Guide.

An IES Special Report.In this guide I provide a general outline of PSA as well as an introduction to some of the more useful tools that I have encountered over the years. There are many more tools available than I will discuss-this is inevitable with such a broad field. At root the participatory approach is one of experimentation and practitioners are encouraged to innovate and see what works. Adaptation is the key. At the end of this guide I provide some useful references for those who would like to pursue the fuller range of available tools. The next section begins with a general overview of PSA and discusses how it is linked to more formal systems analyses. Then, in Section 3, I discuss some of the tools that have proven most useful as well as briefly mentioning some that show great promise

Exploring foundations for using simulations in IS research

Simulation has been adopted in many disciplines as a means for understanding the behavior of a system by imitating it through an artificial object that exhibits a nearly identical behavior. Although simulation approaches have been widely adopted for theory building in disciplines such as engineering, computer science, management, and social sciences, their potential in the IS field is often overlooked. The aim of this paper is to understand how different simulation approaches are used in IS research, thereby providing insights and methodological recommendations for future studies. A literature review of simulation studies published in top-tier IS journals leads to the definition of three classes of simulations, namely the self-organizing, the elementary, and the situated. A set of stylized facts is identified for characterizing the ways in which the premise, the inference, and the contribution are presented in IS simulation studies. As a result, this study provides guidance to future simulation researchers in designing and presenting findings

Agent-Based Modeling for Efficiency Policy of Households\u27 Electricity Consumption in Bandung City

There are many argumentations that the government subsidy in electricity, for holding down the electricity fares, has encouraged extravagant use of electricity. Therefore, the Government Budget (APBN) Burden for this subsidy becomes higher than it necessary. Some experts have argued that this money can actually be used for other necessary and urgent spending such as infrastructure development. The purpose of this research is to build an agent-based model and simulation to explore the dinamic of electricity consumption in Indonesia, especially in Bandung City. Several interviews were conducted about households\u27 behaviors in consuming electricity to build the model. Then, the parameter was set based on the data collected with questionaire and secondary data source. The model was tested for its validity and sensitivity to the change in the controlled parameter. The simulation is expected to provide the government with a combination of electricity fare to various households electricity market segments to ensure an economic use of electricity. Some scenarios were run and the emergent property, the whole system electricity consumption,were observed to find out the best policy to encourage efficient use of electricity in the system

Agent-Based Modeling for Efficiency Policy of Households' Electricity Consumption in Bandung City

There are many argumentations that the government subsidy in electricity, for holding down the electricity fares, has encouraged extravagant use of electricity. Therefore, the Government Budget (APBN) Burden for this subsidy becomes higher than it necessary. Some experts have argued that this money can actually be used for other necessary and urgent spending such as infrastructure development. The purpose of this research is to build an agent-based model and simulation to explore the dinamic of electricity consumption in Indonesia, especially in Bandung City. Several interviews were conducted about households' behaviors in consuming electricity to build the model. Then, the parameter was set based on the data collected with questionaire and secondary data source. The model was tested for its validity and sensitivity to the change in the controlled parameter. The simulation is expected to provide the government with a combination of electricity fare to various households electricity market segments to ensure an economic use of electricity. Some scenarios were run and the emergent property, the whole system electricity consumption,were observed to find out the best policy to encourage efficient use of electricity in the system.Keywords: agent-based modeling, electricity consumption, electricity fare, households, simulation,electricity cost