David F. Andersen

We usually hope that social norms discourage injustice. However, we are all witnesses to harmful norms enforced by governments, such as xenophobia, which need to be contested and changed. Previous studies have concluded that it is possible to change a harmful norm through contestation by powerless actors if suitable structural conditions exist. However, these structural conditions have not been sufficiently studied and, as such, are the focus of this paper. Our paper begins with a review of well-established micro-level theories of social identity theory (SIT), recast as a set of 42 discrete theoretical statements. These statements are then re-expressed in the form of a systems-level theory of macro-changes in societal norms using the system dynamics approach. The over-time dynamic behavior simulated using this structure is compared to events in two well-known case studies of changes in societal norms: women’s suffrage between 1830 and 1920, and the emergence of more tolerant lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) norms in the US between 1950 and 2018. Further simulations of the model explore the roles of anger and social outrage, foreshadowing the ability of simulation-based experiments, such as the one presented here, to explore in a robust way a wide range of (undemocratic) regimes under counter-factual conditions.

The increasing number of certification schemes diminishes the utility of certifications as private regulation and creates several policy challenges. The undergoing efforts to help consumers verify the accuracy of information created by private regulation mechanisms such as certification are currently confronted with the complexities of certification and labeling systems and the difficulties in linking data points across various certification schemes. This paper presents the development of certification and inspection ontology to support smart disclosure of product information. This study proposes that the resulting ontology enables information integration and standardization thus supporting knowledge discovery and sharing by synthesizing information across disparate data sources that is valuable for informing data-driven policy formulation. The ontology also supports standardization of an agreed set of terms and semantics for currently fragmented certification and inspection schemes to support comparability across different certification schemes. The accuracy and consistency of the proposed ontology are verified by using current reasoning tools to run queries based on a set of predefined competency questions.

While public-sector management problems are steeped in positivistic and socially constructed complexity, public management education in the management of complexity lags behind that of business schools, particularly in the application of simulation-based learning. This paper describes a Simulation-Based Learning Environment for public management education that includes a coupled case study and System Dynamics simulation surrounding flood protection, a domain where stewardship decisions regarding public infrastructure and investment have direct and indirect effects on businesses and the public. The Pointe Claire case and CoastalProtectSIM simulation provide a platform for policy experimentation under conditions of exogenous uncertainty (weather and climate change) as well as endogenous effects generated by structure. We discuss the model in some detail, and present teaching materials developed to date to support the use of our work in public administration curricula. Our experience with this case demonstrates the potential of this approach to motivate sustainable learning about complexity in public management settings and enhance learners’ competency to deal with complex dynamic problems.

Systems approaches present opportunities for public managers and policy makers to view policies and programs in a broader context. This article presents a framework to explain how simulation modeling promotes double‐loop learning in management teams by building and exploring collective mental models as well as by enhancing accuracy of the mental models. The authors discuss the types of problems that may benefit from simulation modeling and illustrate how double‐loop learning occurs in the process of dynamic hypothesis testing. Using a case from New York State's Division of Disability Determination, the article shows how simulation modeling built confidence in a management team's decision by providing the team with tools to share and examine multiple hypotheses about a declining trend in initial disability recipients in the state between 1998 and 2004.

Toward a Theory of E-Government Interorganizational Collaboration: Generic Structures for Cross-Boundary Requirements Analysis: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4058-0.ch001: In this chapter, the authors present a series of causal maps that constitute an initial effort in the creation of a generic theory of interorganizational

In the context of facilitated, technology‐supported efforts to resolve complex problems, we recognize the critical role that visual representations can play in both the content and process of collaboration. How these representations are wielded by facilitators and interpreted by participants determines whether they help resolve conflicts or close down conversations. We identify three key attributes of scripted problem‐solving facilitation, as well as three key attributes of visual representations that function as boundary objects, to gain insights into pivotal experiences when group problem‐solving efforts turned from collaboration to conflict and vice versa. We draw on three vignettes from facilitated group problem solving to illustrate how these attributes can be deployed to move conflict‐mired conversations into collaborative discussions. This paper contributes to collaborative problem solving by using the formal sociological theory of boundary objects to offer a deeper, richer understanding of successes and shortcomings of visual representations as drivers of conflict resolution in model‐building approaches. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This note intends to contribute to the practice of group model building by presenting group model‐building scripts that can (1) create a preliminary problem boundary using less than one hour of group time, (2) convene discussions with the group that explicitly link dynamic structure with system behaviour, and (3) allow participants to “zoom” between a micro and a macro view of system structure. These scripts may be used during early phases of problem structuring. They build on an extended program of inquiry dating back to the Stirling System Dynamics Conference of 1994, and they utilize a well‐established group decision support system to facilitate group discussion, negotiation, and decision. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.