Researchers have become increasingly interested in the potential use of agent-based modelling for the prediction of social phenomena, motivated by the desire, first, to further cement the method's scientific status and, second, to participate in other scenarios, particularly in the aid of decision-making. This article contributes to the current…

Reviewing complex interventions is challenging because they include many elements that can interact dynamically in a nonlinear manner. A systems perspective offers a way of thinking to help understand complex issues, but its application in evidence synthesis is not established. The aim of this project was to understand how and why systems…

The study of educational effectiveness has become increasingly complex. Alongside methodological advancements in the investigation and measurement of educational effectiveness, meta-analyses conducted by leading researchers have shown that the field has been suffering from a significant lack of theory or from a weak theoretical basis. The present…

Framing, implementing, and engaging youth in authentic scientific inquiry are highly valued in science education; however, we have very limited knowledge of the nature and use of tools that accomplish these. Therefore, we proposed that board game design is a meaningful tool for engaging youth in understanding environmental issues. We reported…

The relevance of the problem under study is based on the necessity to achieve effectiveness of the learning process aimed at forming a competent specialist and ensuring the quality of training of vocational teacher of a certain subject (design). The aim of the article is to provide theoretical substantiation, to elaborate and to test the…

This paper presents a learning unit that addresses quality design in relational data models. The focus on modeling allows the learning to span analysis, design, and implementation enriching pedagogy across the systems development life cycle. Thriving Systems Theory presents fifteen choice properties that convey design quality in models integrating…

The chapters in this volume set a rich context for understanding the challenges that environmental evaluators face in their everyday work. In particular, the authors highlight the need for responsive, contextual, flexible, adaptive, multidisciplinary, and mixed-methods evaluation approaches. In this chapter, I reinforce their call and further…

There is a feeling among many design educators today that the discipline has reached a crisis in its development, and that change is needed immediately in the way that design educators articulate their epistemology and their methodology. The architectural studio can be seen as the model for design education, and its culture is exemplary. Donald…

Sketches a conceptual framework for motivational design using a systems approach, and gives specific ideas that might fall into its domain. Three types of motivation are identified, and corresponding instructional design strategies are suggested for each stage: entering motivation/matching, process motivation/manipulating, and resultant…

Specifications recently proposed as standards in the domain of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), question the designers of TEL systems on how to put them into practice. Recent studies in Model Driven Engineering have highlighted the need for a framework which could formalize the use of these specifications as well as enhance the quality of the…

This document first outlines considerations relative to a systems approach to evaluation, and then argues for such an approach to the evaluation of information retrieval systems (ISR). The criterion of such evaluations should be the utility of the information retrieved to the user, and the ISR ought to be regarded as one of three interrelated…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to set out an argument for a way to design, implement and manage IS with an emphasis on first, the learning that can be created through undertaking the approach, and second, the learning that may be created through using the IS that was implemented. The paper proposes joining two areas of research namely,…

Discusses the need to include studies of reliability and maintainability during the design of any system. Topic areas addressed include availability calculations, complex systems and standby redundancy, availability and malfunction levels, design techniques, fault trees, functional maintenance, and others. (DH)

Introduces design, integrated with systems thinking, as a necessary if not sufficient means for meeting the challenge of how to create or recreate organizations and institutions. The limits of problem-solving strategies when applied to complex organizational change, the designer's role, and the creative process of design are discussed. (Contains…

Explores issues arising from the massive social changes that will flow from the recently emerged information age to define a new approach to systems design. This approach will allow the creation of a better future while enhancing human performance, adding value to organizations, and creating just and ethical systems. (Contains 32 references.) (KRN)