System Thinking and Action Research

System Theory and deed interrogation Susan M Ross Dr. Tyler Zerwekh phratry 15, 2012 Abstract general thoroughlyness practices and policies argon largely influenced by the people involved and seek to break the boilers suit wellness of the universe. Achieving success in clays idea trains make strategic decisions advantageously-nigh what influencees impart best obtain the common wellness terminuss. Systems Theory training applied science Systems Theory evaluates the kind between schooling systems, and education engineering, and people.Action interrogation is utilize in the field of public wellness to reform adverse defines in communities by addressing the determinants of health, confederacy-wide interventions, and health promotion. Examples of Action Research evaluate the calculating machine usage and health bristlement engineering science and health collaboration crowds as well as promotion of information health management techniques. An emp hasis on sexual intercourseship is the heart of systems orientation.Systems idea involving humans require an understanding of the disposition of the system and its dynamics requires and an understanding of the people involved and the inter meet with each opposite(a) in the relevant interlock of the system. Action Research is a participatory, democratic process concerned with developing pragmatic companionship in the sake of worthwhile human figures, supposition and practice, in participation with others in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people, and to a great ex got than mostly the flourishing of indivi ternary persons and communities. Reason & Bradbury, 2001). This publisher will present a evidence of a thorough analysis of a systems surmisal, process interrogation, and an perform search proposal to analyze the theory in relation to Caucasian socio-economic group. Systems Theory Fundamental systems-thinking perspectives and approaches that be shared across different palm are (1) increased attention to how immature knowledge is ained, managed, exchanged, interpreted, integrated, and disseminated (2) emphasis on a network-centric approach that encourages family completelyiance-building among and between individuals and organizations across traditionalisticistic disciplines and fields in dedicate to achieve relevant goals and objectives (3) the development of models and forcing outions, exploitation a variety of analytic approaches in order to remedy strategic decision make and (4) systems organizing in order to foster improvements in organizational anatomical structures and functions (Leischow, et. al, 2008).Achieving success in systems thinking requires devising strategic decisions about what processes will best achieve the public health goals for the designated population and how new discoveries mountain be disseminated effectively, and what structures and functions are needed to d eliver the new knowledge. Effective knowledge flow results in better network fulfillance, which tout ensembleow for the attainment of systems-level change. Systems organizing let evolved from traditional management theory to a education organizational theory, or an adaptive-systems perspective within other systems environments. entropy technology Systems Theory selective information Systems (IS) theory is de? ned as concepts that speculate on loving and adept relationships between training engine room, Information Systems and favorable out occurs. Much IS theory originated in other disciplines and has been re? ned or applied to date IT/IS issues. IS theory would sympatheticly be categorise as to include the technology bankers acceptance model (TAM) and structuration theory and IT productivity models as applied to IS/IT phenomena (Chiasson, Davidson,2004) . Over the past old age public health systems have evolved signifi tummytly.As ain computers became much auth orityful and operating systems became more usable with the advent of Microsoft Windows, Computer information systems were updated to make drug abuse of more modern-day features, capabilities and software. creation health agencies began to recognize that information technology was a legitimate level for investment to improve their ability to perform core public health functions. As agencies began to upgrade replace or shit new systems that were more robust and narrow down using modern informationbase management systems and tools on more reliable platforms, and the mesh began to come into its own.The Center for Disease Control promoted its offshoot System wide area colloquy and system integration bulge outs with its Information Network for Public Health Officials (INPHO) beginning(a) in 1993. (Artz, Salkowitz, 2007). Computer technology travel passablyly quickly from the glass trammel of the dedicated computer room to the general-purpose office. Over the past thirty d ays standards for technology have become an substantial fixture of organizational computing life.Enforcement of standards also varies greatly depending on the political have a bun in the oven for Information Technology (IT). As applications became more network-aware and network dependent, the need to l perpetuallyage network investments became hypercritical. Public health agencies became more ambitions as technology became more enabling. Computer Information Technology has a lot to ecstasy Public Health agencies existing information sets whitethorn be consolidated and population-establish, including experiences negotiating data communion agreements and memoranda of understanding.With advancing technology national and international standards are creation quickly developed to guide this functionality. (Artz, Salkowitz, 2007). Standards with meekness for patient information data share-out among different agencies, and back-up systems in the event of system failure and crisis ar e also among the concerns for globalizing Information Systems. Action Research Action inquiry is a cooperative approach to seek that provides people with the means to sequestrate organized put to death in an effort to scatter specific problems.Action explore pointes on methods and techniques of investigating that take into account the study populations biography, culture, interactive activities and emotional lives. Although run question makes use of m any(prenominal) traditional data-gathering strategies, its orientation and purpose are middling different. The basic action search adjective routine involves quaternion stages (1) identifying the query unbelief (s), (2) gathering the information to answer the questions (s), (3) analyzing and version the information and (4) sharing the results with the participants (Berg, 2004).Action Research is employ in the field of public health to alleviate adverse conditions in communities by addressing the determinants of heal th, association-wide interventions, and health promotion. Indeed, action research is little a methodology and more a set of guidelines for the roles of the researcher and collaborators, interweaving theory and action and the function of the research knowledge.There are many subtle variations and iterations of action research, but a gross distinction could be do between action research that is conducted by a researcher implementing an intervention at a fellowship level for the dual purposes of change and knowledge takes versus community based participatory action research where those impact by the change and other substantial stakeholders participate in all stages of the research from design, implementation, and data gathering to analysis.participatory action research approaches often have the additional goal of promoting critical consciousness where by dint of cyclic stages of dialogue participants attain a greater understanding of their situation, which in turn may result in political or major tender change (Mullett, Fletcher, 20). Critics of Participatory Action Research (PAR) have questioned whether the ingenuousness of participatory research is ideal for promoting a good for you(p) community.The language of participation in health promotion research, and the inattention to sexual practice, friendly and cultural (as in the use of commonplace terms like the oppressed) differences in participation in research processes do not al dashs comport with the outcome values of PAR. Further, while participatory approaches can stimulate capacity building and community development, they can also bring unequalized players to an uneven table to participate in difficult pre gibed decision making (Minkler, 2000).Action research also called participatory research is an alternative philosophy of social research. ternion particular attributes are often use to distinguish participatory research from conventional research shared ownership of research projects, community-based analysis of social problems, and an orientation toward community action. vital action research expresses a commitment to bring together abundant social analysisthe self-reflective collective self-study of practice, the room in which language is utilise, organization and power in a local situation, and action to improve things.Critical action research is potently represented in the literatures of educational action research, and there it emerges from dissatisfactions with classroom action research that typically does not take a broad view of the role of the relationship between education and social change. Critical action research has attempted to take account of disadvantage attributable to gender and ethnicity as well as to social class in its initial efflorescence of reference (Kimmis, McTaggart, 2007). Examples of Action Research Lau and Hayward (1997) used an action research approach in a study to explore the structure of Internet-based collaborative work groups.Over a biennial catamenia, the researchers participated as facilitators in three action research cycles of problem-solving among approximately 15 instructors and project staff, and 25 health professionals from various regions strive to make a transition to a more community-based health program. The aim was to explore how Internet-based communications would influence their evolution into a practical(prenominal) collaborative workgroup. The first physique was taken up with defining expectations, providing the technology and developing the customized workgroup system.The next phase motto the full deployment of the system, and the main lesson learned was that the shortness of the reading curve was severely underestimated, with frustrations lonesome(prenominal) minimally satisfied by a great deal of proficient substantiate provided by telephone. The final cycle saw the stabilization of the system and the emergence of the virtual(prenominal) groups. The interpretations of the study suggest that role clarity, relationship building, information sharing, resource support, and experiential acquisition are important aspects in virtual group development.There was also a sentience that more research was needed on how group support systems can service groups interact with their external environment, as well as on how to enhance the process of learning by group members. Comstock and frustrate (1995) have written about their experiences in integrating computer conferencing into a learning community for mid- cathexiser working adults attending a Graduate Management Program at Antioch University in Seattle. Their findings connect to establishing boundaries to interaction, creating a care community, and building collaborative learning.Students were expected to use the system for collaborative learning using three forms of conversation dialogue, discussion and critical reflection. Dialogues were enjoined as a result of attempts to relate classroom lesson s to personal situations at work, with a better understanding provided by five-fold opinions. Discussions, distinguished by the goal of making a group decision or taking an action, required a fair degree of moderation, insofar as participants engraft it difficult to reach closure.The process of reflecting critically on ideas was also difficult participants seldom took the time to analyze postings, preferring a more immediate, and more superficial, conversational style. The authors conclude with four recommendations 1) be clear about the purpose of the computer conference and expectations for use 2) develop incentives for widespread and continuous participation 3) hand attention to affects of the software on the way the system is used for learning and 4) take members of the community how to translate face-to-face collaborative processes to the on-line environment (Reason, & Bradbury, 2001).Action Research proffer The Affordable Care Act calls for a greater reliance on the net profit as a means of communicating health and coverage information, yet variations in the current usage of the internet by some populations have important implications for implementation. ground on the results of The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University Race and turning pointSurvey(2011),six in 10 adults overall say they have ever used the Internet to entry health information, and gateway differs by race andincome.Forty-three percent of Hispanics musical composition having ever used the Internet to entrance fee health information, while 56 percent of b deficiencys and 65 percent of whites report doing so. The differences are even more striking among those with humble incomes. Just three in ten Hispanics with incomes under $40,000 say they have ever used the Internet to access health information, compared with 44 percent of blacks and half of whites with similar incomes. More than 70 000 websites disseminate health information in excess of 50 million people seek health information online, with likely consequences for the health care system.The Internet offers widespread access to health information, and the advantages of interactivity, information tailoring and anonymity. However, access is inequitable and use is hindered further by navigational challenges due to numerous design features (e. g. disorganization, technical language and lack of permanence). Increasingly, critics question the persona of online health information limited research indicates that much is inaccurate. Meager information-evaluation skills add to consumers vulnerability, and reenforce the need for quality standards and widespread criteria for evaluating health information (Kline, Haynes, 2001).An action research project evaluating the effects of the information technology theory on Caucasians over a period of time would be helpful in providing evidence based research for the Information Technology Systems Theory. The research project would check a group of Caucasian males and females in the same age range, the same level of computer skills and education. The focus of the research is to determine if the majority of access to healthcare was through the use of Information Technology would it induce a healthier group and so a group with minimal access to healthcare period.The group would be evaluated for a year. During the time frame the group would have an in-person visit with a remediate once every six months withdraw for an emergency. The visit would include a shade physical and required wellness checks. follow through visits would be via Skye or video-conferencing. The group would be deemed physically and mentally fit excluding family history of health issues. The group would be tending(p) a pass to a fittingness center for a year to fend for their health, and would have to carry on contact with a nutritionist and their physician via the computer netmail o a regular basis.The group would also have access to the Internet anytime they want for the evaluation time. The rest of the environmental and social aspects would be determined by each participate of the research project, importee that each participates could be local or global as long as there is consistent monitoring of the all of the participates. The evaluation would incorporate Action Research and Critical Action research as some instances would take into account the social economic locating of the participants. Given that the largest function of whites used the computer and there is a large portion of people that lack access to healthcare in all races.Minimizing variables, such as computer knowledge and education levels and providing all necessary tools to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Researchers would have options to focus the variable changes if there are any on the social economic condition of the individual participants. In conclusion Systems thinking involving humans require an understanding of the nature of the system and i ts dynamics requires and an understanding of the people involved and the interaction with each other in the applicable network of the system.Public health agencies began to recognize that information technology was a legitimate target for investment to improve their ability to perform core public health functions. Computer Information Technology has a lot to offer Public Health agencies existing data sets may be consolidated and population-based, including experiences negotiating data sharing agreements and memoranda of understanding. Action research approaches can stimulate capacity building and community development in designated social status groups if the focus is correctly designated. References Arzt, N. H. Salkowitz, S. M (2007), exploitation of public health information systems Enterprise-wide approaches, p4-6, 11-13, 18-22. Berg, B. L. , (2004), qualitative research methods for the social sciences, retrieved on majestic 23, 2012, from http//digilib. bc. edu/reserves/sc210/ piat/sc21007. pdf Chaisson, M. 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Structu ration of Internet-based collaborative work groups through action research. Retrieved on September 13, 2012 from http//search. ahfmr. ab. ca/tech_eval/gss. htm (11/4/1998). Leischow, S. J (2008), Systems thinking to improve the publics health, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, retrieved on September 9, 2012, from http//dccps. nci. nih. gov/brp/scienceteam/ajpm/SystemsThinkingImprovePublicsHealth. pdf. Mullett, J. Fletcher, S. , (2011), Action research in public health, Oxford Index, retrieved on September 13, 2012, from http//oxfordindex. oup. com/view/10. 1093/obo/9780199756797-0018 Minkler, M. , (2000) Using participatory action research to build healthy communities, Public health reports, Focus on healthy communities. Retrieved on September 13, 2012, from http//www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1308710/pdf/pubhealthrep00022-0089. pdf Reason, P. , Bradbury, H. (2001). enchiridion of action research participative inquiry and practice. capital of the United Kingdom SA GE. Retrieved on September 7, 2012