The importance of eliciting stakeholders’ system boundary perceptions for problem structuring and decision-making

Pluchinotta, Irene; Salvia, Giuseppe; Zimmermann, Nicole

doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2021.12.029

Cited by 21 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our study focuses on a UK-based case study in the London urban area of Thamesmead, where maintaining long-term quality of the natural-as well as built-environment and increasing its use is a priority in the redevelopment of the area [52].…”

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It hosts twice the amount of green space per person than the London average, as 150 of its 750 hectares are covered by parks, plus 14 sites of nature conservation interest and 32 hectares of water, consisting of five lakes (mostly embedded in green areas), canals and riverfront [53]. Nevertheless, UGS is reportedly underexploited by the local community [52]. diverse influences and local needs [49], thus increasing the chances of effective results, including increased use of UGS [16].…”

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It hosts twice the amount of green space per person than the London average, as 150 of its 750 hectares are covered by parks, plus 14 sites of nature conservation interest and 32 hectares of water, consisting of five lakes (mostly embedded in green areas), canals and riverfront [53]. Nevertheless, UGS is reportedly underexploited by the local community [52]. Described as desolate [54], the Thamesmead architectural landscape is mostly constituted by concrete social-housing stocks built since the mid-1960s under an ambitious post-war housing project, which was never fully realised.…”

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through working with stakeholders and decisionmakers, this study aims to feed into the regeneration plan by anticipating potentially critical influences in the use of UGS through the integration of diverse local views with a Systems Thinking approach. The project involved a range of stakeholders in a multi-step participatory modelling process (Table 1, for details see [52]). After a set of preliminary scoping interviews mostly on perceptions of the problems affecting the case study, the stakeholders collaboratively defined a shared concern for the future of Thamesmead.…”

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multi-step participatory qualitative modelling process informing the study, including the specific objectives, undertaken activities and resulting outcomes at each stage. With respect to the wider case study presented in [52], this article addresses stages 3 and 4 (background colour in grey) regarding the Causal-Loop Diagram building and analysis, respectively, especially about local community views of the use of urban green space, to be compared with organisational stakeholders.…”

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Understanding Urban Green Space Usage through Systems Thinking: A Case Study in Thamesmead, London

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban green spaces provide environmental, economic, societal and health benefits to cities. However, policy and planning interventions aiming to improve usage have often led to unintended consequences, including, in some circumstances, an actual decline in usage. Previous research has identified factors influencing the use of urban green space, more often with a focus on the ‘quality’ and physical features of the space, rather than on the broader social factors. This study aims to unpack the complexity of factors that influence the use of urban green space through the application of Systems Thinking. A qualitative mixed-method approach integrating System Dynamics with rapid ethnography was adopted to elicit the views of local residents in Thamesmead, London. A thematic analysis of interviews was undertaken to systematically map the causal relations between factors, which were compared to wider stakeholders’ views. Our findings highlight the relevance of dynamics and social influences on the use of green space, which include social interactions and stewardship, health conditions, availability of services and amenities. These are factors that are underexplored in the literature and, sometimes, overlooked in urban green space policy by decision-makers. We infer that attendance of urban green spaces requires time, which may be occupied in other practices determined by local conditions and needs. Expanding the spatial and temporal boundaries of investigation, wider than debates on ‘quality’, should, in our view, increase the chances of identifying critical influences and foster an increased use of green space.

show abstract

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It hosts twice the amount of green space per person than the London average, as 150 of its 750 hectares are covered by parks, plus 14 sites of nature conservation interest and 32 hectares of water, consisting of five lakes (mostly embedded in green areas), canals and riverfront [53]. Nevertheless, UGS is reportedly underexploited by the local community [52]. Described as desolate [54], the Thamesmead architectural landscape is mostly constituted by concrete social-housing stocks built since the mid-1960s under an ambitious post-war housing project, which was never fully realised.…”

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Case Study: Thamesmead London Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Understanding Urban Green Space Usage through Systems Thinking: A Case Study in Thamesmead, London

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Dealing with soft variables and data scarcity: lessons learnt from quantification in a participatory system dynamics modelling process

Pluchinotta,

Zhou,

Zimmermann

2024

System Dynamics Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

System dynamics (SD) models are commonly used for structuring complex problems to support decision‐making. They are used to investigate areas in which limited knowledge is available, describing nonlinear relationships and including intangible elements. Although this explorative nature is one of the key advantages, it also represents a challenge for quantifying the intangible, i.e. more qualitative aspects of an SD model, especially when it is not possible to apply conventional analytical methods due to data scarcity. Procedures to obtain and analyse information using participatory approaches are limited. First, this article outlines existing quantification methods and related open questions when dealing with soft variables and data scarcity. Secondly, it summarises the quantification process developed during a participatory SD process, describing how we dealt with data scarcity and soft variables. Lastly, we suggest a quantification framework in relation to data availability and level of stakeholder engagement. © 2024 The Authors. System Dynamics Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of System Dynamics Society.

show abstract

Pragmatism as practice theory: The experience of systems and OR scholars

Ormerod

2023

Syst Res Behav Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The paper examines the application of American pragmatism by systems and OR scholars who attempt to understand the interactions between consultants and clients at a detailed level. Specifically it examines whether pragmatism can be considered to be a practice theory by examining the empirical evidence of published case studies. A search of mainly OR journals identified 12 published papers containing detailed descriptions of behaviour in systems and OR interventions. On closer examination, six were found to be based on pragmatism through their reliance on boundary theory; five utilised grounded theory; the remaining paper utilised unbounded systems theory, which is based explicitly on pragmatism. Nine conclusions are reached which summarise the progress to date of utilising pragmatism‐as‐a‐practice‐theory and three which point to the potential for future research, collaboration and application in the systems/OR domain. The paper addresses the perceived lack of empirical application of pragmatism to everyday affairs.

show abstract

The importance of eliciting stakeholders’ system boundary perceptions for problem structuring and decision-making

Cited by 21 publications

References 48 publications

Understanding Urban Green Space Usage through Systems Thinking: A Case Study in Thamesmead, London

Understanding Urban Green Space Usage through Systems Thinking: A Case Study in Thamesmead, London

Dealing with soft variables and data scarcity: lessons learnt from quantification in a participatory system dynamics modelling process

Pragmatism as practice theory: The experience of systems and OR scholars

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About