This study offers a conceptual explanation of a holistic methodology that has utility in how we engage with complex situations. This is the VIPLAN Methodology developed by Raul Espejo and first published in 1988. A case is presented that... more
This study offers a conceptual explanation of a holistic methodology that has utility in how we engage with complex situations. This is the VIPLAN Methodology developed by Raul Espejo and first published in 1988. A case is presented that evaluates whether this methodology has impact when tacitly embedded in a postgraduate research methods course. The underlying argument is that research can be usefully viewed as a form of engagement in complex problem situations, with one challenge being to make sense of situational complexity and establish the question. Thus, it becomes appropriate to introduce the principles underpinning this methodology into a research methods course in order to develop student understanding of how to move from making sense of the situation to a clearly defined problem that is then handled. The study examines a research methods course delivered annually over a period of three years, but drawing upon data from the previous two years, permitting a five year perspec...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The growing use of the concept of an affordance raises questions about its meaning and has led to much debate. This exploratory evaluation of usage reveals divergent meanings, exposes tensions and explains why there is confusion about the... more
The growing use of the concept of an affordance raises questions about its meaning and has led to much debate. This exploratory evaluation of usage reveals divergent meanings, exposes tensions and explains why there is confusion about the concept. The notion of an affordance focuses attention upon possible action, raising the issue of how affordances give rise to action. The discussion reveals latency in the nature of affordances, that they do not exist in isolation, can be designed into artefacts and have social, temporal and spatial dimensions for their actualization. An affordance is a necessary condition for its enactment, but sufficiency arises with the situatedness of enactment. Moreover, an affordance, which is actualized through its enactment, is thus performative. It is concluded that the term affordance should be used with caution and with more precision and rigour, as its everyday use is fraught with vagueness saying little about the complex dynamics that underpins afford...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The growing use of the concept of an affordance raises questions about its meaning and has led to much debate. This exploratory evaluation of usage reveals divergent meanings, exposes tensions and explains why there is confusion about the... more
The growing use of the concept of an affordance raises questions about its meaning and has led to much debate. This exploratory evaluation of usage reveals divergent meanings, exposes tensions and explains why there is confusion about the concept. The notion of an affordance focuses attention upon possible action, raising the issue of how affordances give rise to action. The discussion reveals latency in the nature of affordances, that they do not exist in isolation, can be designed into artefacts and have social, temporal and spatial dimensions for their actualization. An affordance is a necessary condition for its enactment, but sufficiency arises with the situatedness of enactment. Moreover, an affordance, which is actualized through its enactment, is thus performative. It is concluded that the term affordance should be used with caution and with more precision and rigour, as its everyday use is fraught with vagueness saying little about the complex dynamics that underpins afford...
Research Interests: Sociology and Affordance
Man’s relationship with technology dates back many thousands of years. However, it is only relatively recently that scholarly attention has been given to this relationship. Whilst recent conceptualisations of the socio-material or... more
Man’s relationship with technology dates back many thousands of years. However, it is only relatively recently that scholarly attention has been given to this relationship. Whilst recent conceptualisations of the socio-material or socio-technical have given rise to such metaphors as ensemble, entanglement, and assemblage, these offer limited insight into the dynamic nature of this relationship. The concept of homeostasis offers an alternative perspective focusing upon how stability is achieved, it being assumed that technology exists in a stable relationship with man. This paper examines homeostasis, drawing upon relevant literatures as well as evaluating the case-study of use of a laptop. The findings demonstrate that the notion that homeostasis in terms of homeostatic mechanisms, provide a valid and useful epistemological device to explain the stable nature of relationship between man and (information) technology. Moreover, that homeostasis underpins the resilience of such relatio...
Research Interests:
This paper aims to explore the importance of designer’s perception of the user’s/practitioner’s habitus (institutional context) and how this perception misalignment with the user’s habitus (institutional context) in the case of... more
This paper aims to explore the importance of designer’s perception of the user’s/practitioner’s habitus (institutional context) and how this perception misalignment with the user’s habitus (institutional context) in the case of information artefacts (configurational in nature) brings forth collective affordances and introduces new forms of self-awareness to potential interruptions. Our discussion introduces two theoretical contributions. First, by exploring the specialised practices related to information artefacts in particular institutional context of Iran, we highlight the role of the designer’s perception of the user’s/practitioner’s institutional context in appropriating these artefacts and actualising ‘collective affordances’. Second, by looking at the appropriation processes of these configurational information artefacts, we describe how the misalignment of this perception with that of the user’s/practitioner’s institutional context initiate the new forms of self-awareness am...
Research Interests:
This essay provides a cursory discussion on the issue of how to conceptualise social phenomena in terms of the multiple levels that characterise it. It recognises the nested nature of different levels and the challenges of integrating or... more
This essay provides a cursory discussion on the issue of how to conceptualise social phenomena in terms of the multiple levels that characterise it. It recognises the nested nature of different levels and the challenges of integrating or aligning different levels, whether it be from a qualitative of a quantitative perspective. In response it is proposed that a complexity approach, whereby the complexity of a situation is unfolded to reveal multiple levels offers a useful approach for handling multi-level perspectives. In doing so, it draws upon an old model which has perhaps been in the main, forgotten: the Viable System Model (VSM) developed by Stafford Beer Introduction It is not uncommon that research takes as its unit of analysis a social entity (e.g. individual) or assortment of similar entities (i.e. member of a specified population) in isolation or within ‘context’, and assumes a simple relationship between the entit-y(ies) and this context (Hitt, Beamish, Jackson & Mathieu, ...
Research Interests:
This paper examines two research situations using the method of autoethnography. This is a contentious yet valid approach to research which can reveal that which is hidden from conventional approaches. The aim is to examine how an... more
This paper examines two research situations using the method of autoethnography. This is a contentious yet valid approach to research which can reveal that which is hidden from conventional approaches. The aim is to examine how an autoethnographic account of two unrelated studies elucidates shared issues relating to research practice, and to argue for its legitimacy. This results in a collaborative autoethnography as the authors share their respective experiences to create a shared domain of experience. The first study relates to a two year collaborative research project which failed to create the conditions for one of the researchers to conduct the study expected. The second relates to the practices of learning and unlearning in organic community spaces such as found in makerspaces. Both accounts are contextually embedded personal critical reflections that provide more than the primarily descriptive accounts that characterise an autobiography. They reveal the tensions and frustrati...
Research Interests:
This paper provides a descriptive account of the implementation of Universal Credit, a flagship project of the UK Government. This is a system designed to simply the existing complex that constitutes welfare support to the unemployed,... more
This paper provides a descriptive account of the implementation of Universal Credit, a flagship project of the UK Government. This is a system designed to simply the existing complex that constitutes welfare support to the unemployed, those on low incomes and those unable to work. This study draws upon a range of material, in particular official documents and Government debates. It reveals a system grounded in a vision, enshrined in law, that has been implemented in a manner which learns from experience, but which has overrun its initial roll-out deadline, as well as has drawn critical attention to the harm experienced by claimants enrolled onto the system. The outcome is controversy. This paper reveals in its narrative the tension between political ideology and pragmatic action. Critical analysis will be provided elsewhere.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper examines the utility of a novel and relatively unknown approach to handling messy situations. This approach, developed by Raul Espejo, is the VIPLAN Methodology. It is presented as a heuristic and comprises a set of six... more
This paper examines the utility of a novel and relatively unknown approach to handling messy situations. This approach, developed by Raul Espejo, is the VIPLAN Methodology. It is presented as a heuristic and comprises a set of six activities which act as ‘pointers’ to guide thinking and actions. The methodology’s contribution rests upon its explicit focus upon the context within which messy situations are handled. This draws attention to the cybernetics of the situation (Cybernetic Loop), which can be made sense of using the Viable System Model. However, one of the challenges of the methodology is the perception that it is complex and difficult to use. A case-study is used to investigate how the methodology can be operationalised. This reveals a set of nine lessons, which are offered as guidelines to enhance our understanding of how to use the VIPLAN Methodology.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Emerging paradigms such as big data, business data analytics and business data science increased the importance of focusing on the notion of data and information quality more than before. Although more mechanized processes are being used... more
Emerging paradigms such as big data, business data analytics and business data science increased the importance of focusing on the notion of data and information quality more than before. Although more mechanized processes are being used to prepare pieces of information to be fit-for-use for information consumers, how information consumers perceive the quality of information and its difference with the actual quality of information gets more important as information consumers are at the position to judge the quality. Motivated by the notion of Perceived Information Quality (PIQ), this study explains the role of adoption and implementation of Information Technology (IT) in the process of perceiving information quality by information consumers. For the purpose of this research, seven Iranian organizations were studied. Due to lack of proper communication and institutional link between these organizations and the technology developers, it has been challenging for the studied organizati...
Research Interests:
The prevailing view to the data lifecycle is the same as the view to the process of manufacturing of products and it is called data production process. Different data roles which have been considered in this process are data collector or... more
The prevailing view to the data lifecycle is the same as the view to the process of manufacturing of products and it is called data production process. Different data roles which have been considered in this process are data collector or generator, data custodian and data consumer. Lee (2004) suggests that if these roles have adequate contextual knowledge, the quality of data improves significantly. At the societal level, " psychic distance " between different data roles needs to be accommodated. We argue that networked-view (Law and Singleton 2005) to the process of data production helps to have better understanding of how these roles can affect data quality at the societal level. According to this view an independent data role can be assumed for the technology which is being used in the process while its role is generally considered to be incorporated in other data roles. Leonardi (2010) argues that digital technology has materiality, hence, we decided to consider a role...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the strategy literature in such a manner as to identify the key approaches and themes of current interest and thus provide a platform to position organisational cybernetics, in particular, the... more
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the strategy literature in such a manner as to identify the key approaches and themes of current interest and thus provide a platform to position organisational cybernetics, in particular, the viable system model (VSM), as a complement to these established approaches.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the dominant themes of three conceptual strands to the business strategy domain (the resource‐based view, the strategy‐as‐practice approach and the strategy‐structure debate) to ascertain how they inform about the notion of strategy as the content of the process of strategising. Concepts from organisational cybernetics are examined to reveal how they can enrich our understanding of strategy, and complement the strategy domain conceptualisations.FindingsThis analysis presents the view of strategy as discourse for action. The VSM provides a device to support discussions about the organisational implications both of the process of st...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Information Systems, Marketing, Computer Science, Information Technology, Project Management, and 12 moreOperations Research, Production, Logistics, Management Science, Forecasting, Scheduling, Operational Research, Investment, Mathematical Sciences, Reliability, Location, and Communications Technology
Research Interests:
The aim of this report is to provide a profile of the serviced accommodation subsector in Scotland for the period 2003 to 2007, paying particular attention to the period 2005. It presents a quantitative insight into the composition and... more
The aim of this report is to provide a profile of the serviced accommodation subsector in Scotland for the period 2003 to 2007, paying particular attention to the period 2005. It presents a quantitative insight into the composition and dynamics of this sub-...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Citation for published version: Harwood, S & Eaves, S 2018, Mind the gap: But does the gap matter in social science research? in P Demartini & M Marchiori (eds), ECRM 2018: Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Research... more
Citation for published version: Harwood, S & Eaves, S 2018, Mind the gap: But does the gap matter in social science research? in P Demartini & M Marchiori (eds), ECRM 2018: Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies. ECRM Conference Proceedings, Università Roma Tre, European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, Rome, Italy, 12/07/18.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Skip to Main Content. ...