Social and Economic Systems Studies: The Journal of the Japan Association for Social and Economic Systems Studies
Online ISSN : 2432-6550
Print ISSN : 0913-5472
Volume 17
Displaying 1-20 of 20 articles from this issue
  • Article type: Index
    1998 Volume 17 Pages Toc1-
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Masanori MORITANI
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 1-8
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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  • Kaname IIO
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 9-14
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    Complex systems approaches are a new version of self-organizing systems theories. Heretofore, self-organizing systems approaches have laid stress on the self-stabilizing aspects of the systems. If we are forced to say, the traditional approaches have not developed their implication to study the dynamics of self-activating aspects which appear in the changing processes to the new adaptive structure of self-organizing systems. Complex systems approaches have hopeful capacity to study the self-activating aspects. If we form a hasty conclusion that we need not the "old systems theories", we shall make a fatal mistake. Considering the approach in the style of Gell-Mann, we have to utilize the both approaches;the approach to study self-stabilizing aspects and the approach to study self-activating aspects.
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  • Shinichiro MADO
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 15-20
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    An economic system is an environment for living individual man and a condition of life. The uncertainty in the future increases when the economic system that is the environment for individual man changes. The role of fluctuations is very important for understanding the economic system as a complex system and its layered structure. It is important that fluctuations bring evolution to the economic system. The notions of fluctuations and cooperated adaptive actions of micro agents are key notions for micro-macro layered structure of the economic system. An economic system consists of the macro system and the micro system. This is the most basic layered structure of an economic system. It is important for understanding an economic system as a complex system to understand this hierarchy as a result of evolution from micro to macro. The fluctuations of the macro system bring instability and the uncertainty to micro agents. Therefore, micro agents take cooperated adaptive actions. And, these cooperated adaptive actions bring the change to the macro system. This is indeed the policy process as a whole.
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  • Susumu KUROISHI
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 21-26
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    This paper discusses about the possibility of constructing a new social theory from "Complex Adaptive System" perspective, advocated by Santa Fe Institute, which is acknowledged as one of the newest versions in General Systems Theory. According to Stuart Kauffman, one of the most celebrated characters of SFI, "Complex Adaptive" means the combination of Self-organization and Darwinian Selection. For example, living systems and/or social systems, both are complex adaptive, organize and maintain its own order by itself, and moreover, continually create ever-new order and evolve through continual selections. These two contradictory conditions (order-maintenance and change) compose Kauffman's "evolvability", the most important feature of "Complex Adaptive System". So as to introduce this perspective into social theory, the auther claims that following conditions are required for social scientists: First we must abandon so-called "general equilibrium" theory. That is because there is no self-creation of new order or no evolution in equilibrium. Instead of the static equilibrium among "n-number of differentiated goods", we must find out only one general good in Social Economic System, and originate dynamic" one undifferentiated good" non-equilibrium theory. The author points out that the money itself is the very one good. Money does never specify any definite goods. In this sense, it is the only one undifferentiated good, that everyone desires. (The author also treats money as "dissipative structure" of disire in former paper.) Further, money develops via merchants the social-economic routes connecting sellers and buyers, producers and consumers, supply and demand. (General equilibrium theory has no money or merchant.) These are the social-economic structural substances that organize new social structure, invent new commodities, and evolve itself.
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  • Akira TOKUYASU
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 27-33
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    In this paper I try to formulate pluralization of meaning construction in the process of globalization in terms of social systems theory, especially with reference to Luhmann's concept of the world society. With several paired concepts, such as nation society/world society, stratified differentiation/functional differentiation, diffuse/specific, universalistic/particularistic, inclusion/exclusion, I illustrate the transformation of social structure and its effects on the principle of meaning construction and the difinition of individual identity. The capacity of the nation society for vertical integration has been diminished in the process of globalization and functional differentiation. Every functional subsystem has become more autonomous, and the socio-cultural sources of individual identity has become more diversified:particular ascriptive traits such as ethnicity of religious tradition on the one hand, temporal combinations of universal but specific memberships in various groups and networks on the other hand. In this consequence the public sphere of political discourse has also become pluralistic, participated by various agents such as nation states and NGOs. Only this pluralism seems to produce more capacity to cope with future risks.
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  • Yoshiaki TAKAO
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 35-39
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    This Paper is a first step to introducing Luhmnan's social system theory into organization theory which has come to a deadlock. We focus especially on relationship between communication anddecision. Luhmann defines communication as a synthesis of three selections, namely information, utterance, and understanding. And he emphasizes self-referentiality of communication. By referring Luhmann's idea on communication, we find duality of selection in organizational decision making process, which may cause paradoxes of self-reference. But in the decision making situation, these paradoxes are often deparadoxized by understanding that selecting itself has previously selected. Selection of selecting is ascribed to a organization as subject and this understanding becomes ordinary in consequence. This ascription is possible when a organization seems transcendent from its members. Decision making is a selection style which deparadoxized duality of selection through separation of ascription. A organization can make complicated selections by using this style. By the analysis above, It is revealed that the selection style of decision making has essential functions for organizations. Consequently, we can recognize modern organizations as systems which try to describe itself decision making system.
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  • Naonori TSUDA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 41-46
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    Co-determination between workers and management in a firm could be efficient if they were cooperative each other in dicision making. Efficiency and co-determination is compatible in this case. But if workers pursued the quality of working life in a production system by introducing for example a democratic form of work organization or long work cycles in an extreme level, the efficiency might be low at least in a short time. The relation between efficiency and the quality of workung life is among the trade-off area in this case. However, in the long run, workers can have the opportunity to improve the efficiency by systematic special job training. Two examples of auto plants are compared in the article to explain the above hypothesis. The first one is the Uddevalla factory of Volvo in Sweden and the second is Saturn Corporation, the GM's subsidiary.
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  • Masaki KUSAKA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 47-53
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In this paper, we study policy making methods by residents on two advanced districts and analyze the conditions of good policy making. First, founding on actual circumstances and problems on policy making process and countermessures to these problems, we clear up subjects on policy making methods based on 'BottomUP' and analyzed those;'Tatewari Gyosei', coordination between an area and the hole city, support systems for policy making, and making mutual consent. In case of Nakano Ward's Neighborhood Board, residents are not interest in policy making for theirself, and subjects are given by Nakano Ward. For these reasons, it is not easy to make mutual consent and the contents of policy making are not high level. On the other hand, in case of Toyonana Citie's Machizukuri Board, the contents of policy making are comparatively high level and making mutual consent is easy. However, being not claear the provisions on enforcement of policy making matters in municipal ordinance, it is not easy to carry into policies by residents.
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  • Yoshihide HORIUCHI
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 55-60
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Most of the contemporary discussions on world ecology are of an incremental nature, based on the present conditions of our lifestyles. The author argues that, besides such incrementalism, there is a need for an idealized design of "ways of living"(larger concept than lifestyles)of mankind for the year 2050. Such idealization can produce images of ways of living with new perspectives of happiness and life fulfillment, other than contemporary industrial, mass-consumption orientation. Based on Russell Ackoff's idealized systems design paradigm, the author has been developing the Social Systems Navigation(SSNV), a multi-layer, iterative idealization process seeking ultimate ideal images by defining several layers of intermediate ideal images. For example, from(1)the necessary per capita calorie intake per day, (2)world food production, (3)per capita energy consumption per year, etc., we can come up with a series of ultimate ideal images of sustainable lifestyle scenarious for the mankind for 2050 by the culture, age, life pattern, etc. From them, we can proceed to the multi-layer SSNV process. The year 2050 is close enough for us to relate with since some of us will still by alive then, yet far enough to allow us open systems thinking.
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  • Koji KANAGAWA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 61-66
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    A lot of time consuming activities such as shopping, gourmet or appreciation of arts are contained in the wide concept of tourism as well as visiting famous tourism spot. In this aspect, information which is expected about tourism destination is(1)details of the object, (2)to contain a variety of value, (3)easy accessibility to the related information e.g.culture, history and industry in the area, (4)to keep the linkage among these information. Internet has an great possibility to fill these condition, because of its bilateral function, existence of hyper link and search engine, easy dispatch of information etc. In this paper, advantage and disadvantage of Internet as a media to send information of tourism destination are showed comparing with other media. And some fundamental public policy are referred to utilize Internet as an effective tool to send regional tourism information.
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  • Toru TSUDA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 67-74
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In the 21 st century, the ratio of the number of aging people to the total population will increase rapidly, and the aging society will cause many social problems which are such that medical care and daily care for aging people are required much more than hitherto. In order to solve these problems, information communication network systems are effective as seen in the medical field. However, present systems which deal only information are not sufficient for taking care of aging people for example. Care actions for aging people are needed finally. Moreover, more friendly(that is easy to use), therefore, intelligent network systems are required. Independent robots are not suitable for care of aging people in the cause of humanityless. So, this paper proposes an intelligent social information communication system with teleaction function and shows an example of a multimedia agent type of intelligent network system with teleaction function which is able to give medical and daily care services for aging people. In this system, tactile information is used in addition to audio and visual media to increase communication function. In developing these systems, it is needed at least for scientific engineers and social scientists to cooperate in solving social problems in introducing systems especially.
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  • Takashi MIENO
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 75-80
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The main purpose of this article is to clarify the influence of information oriented society to the "quality of life"or welfare of human beings. First, we discuss the diversities of concepts of"quality of life"from various viewpoints, such as GNP, needs, utility, functional requisite, and so on. Second, we reconsider the concept of information from the origin of the word, and in relation to the new media. Third, we discuss the theory by Klapp.O.E concerning the bordom, monotony, ambiguity, repetition, and so on by the affluency of information. This theory is applied to the theory of"functionings"of human beings by Sen, A.Fourth, we consider the actual formation of meanings in the information oriented society because of lack of reality in the present day. Finally, we discuss the"quality of life"in relation to the freedom and moral in the information oriented society. We should recognize viewpoints of human beings and social system to clarify our modern society.
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  • Sakae OKUDA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 81-86
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The traditional struggles in the 20th century have been faught in the course of justice for economic fairness. In the 21st century, the center of struggles will shift from such a welfare-distribution to risk-distribution. In this article, we firstly examine the scientific and sociological treatment of risks. Secondly we point out that a space of rational discourse about risk-distribution induces a dynamic market in which knowledge plays a critical role and becomes the source of competitive advantage. In such a market where the demand of knowledge about risks meets the supply of knowledge about risks, various exchanges among various participants are formed and the exchanges are mediated not only by money but also by various value. We also point out here that the formation of such a new mode of knowledge creation, or a decision to adopt such a mode of knowledge production gives rise to various risks.
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  • Satoshi WATANABE
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 87-92
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    Risk judgement involved with the development and the management of today's technology is usually made by plural persons. It is because a group of persons is assumed to be able to make wiser judgements or decisions than a single person. But many researches of social psy-chology have shown that groups often make some deficient decisions. Cohesiveness of a group has been thought to be the key factor that brings about such deficiency. In the meantime Gibbons et al. argue that a new mode of knowledge production is emerging. This new mode is characterized by the participation of various persons loosely related to one another in a temporal network. A group formed under this mode seems to be free from the deficiency that is assumed to accompany group decision making. Because it is difficult to presume that there is strong cohesiveness among a group of dissimilar persons related to one another only in a temporal network. But in this article the author argues that it is social identity based on social categorization that makes a group decision making biased and distorted. Social categorization won't dis-appear even in a network-type new society. For this reason, group decision making will show the same deficiency as ever even under the new mode of knowledge production.
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  • Yumiko NARA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 93-98
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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    The purpose of this paper is to consider Risk Management Model of Family System which can reflect the effect of its organizational structure. It's in order to grasp the actual condition of risk management in each family attribute. Based on the risk management theory, I discuss a model proposing following thesis;the effectiveness of risk management in one family system depends on the congruence of its structure, process, context and hazard meaning system's risk environment. To concrete form to this model, some variables measuring dynamic/static hazard, resources, loose/tight coupling, risk management process and family effectiveness should be examined.
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  • Kaname IIO
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 99-102
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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  • Kenji KOSAKA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 102-106
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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  • Tomitaro SUEISHI
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 106-109
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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  • Hiroshi YODA
    Article type: Article
    1998 Volume 17 Pages 109-111
    Published: October 24, 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: July 28, 2017
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