Changing systems for supporting farmers' decisions: Problems, paradigms, and prospects

Agricultural Systems

Volumn 74, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 179-220

  McCown, R L ^a  

^a CSIRO   (Australia)

Author keywords

Action research; Decision proxy; Decision support system; Decision tool; Evaluation; Experiential learning; Intervention paradigms; Simulation model

Indexed keywords

DECISION MAKING; DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM; FARMERS ATTITUDE;

AUSTRALIA;

EID: 0036786177     PISSN: 0308521X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0308-521X(02)00026-4     Document Type: Article

References (86)

1. Anderson, J.R., Hardaker, J.B., 1972. An appreciation of decision analysis in management. Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics 40, 171-184.
2. Anderson, J.R., Hardaker, J.B., 1979. Economic analysis in design of new technologies for small farmers. In: Valdes, A., Scobie, G.M., Dillon, J.L. (Eds.), Economics and the Design of Small-farmer Technology. Iowa State University Press, Ames.
3. Anthony, R.N., 1965. Planning and Control Systems - A Framework for Analysis. Harvard University, Boston, MA.
4. Bakken, B., Gould, J., Kim, D., 1994. Experimentation in learning organizations: A management flight simulator approach. In: Morecroft, J.D.W., Sterman, J.D. (Eds.), Modeling for Learning Organizations. Productivity Press, Oregon, pp. 243-266.
5. Banks, J., Aviles, E., McLaughlin, J.R., Yuan, R.C., 1991. The Simulator: new member of the simulation family. Interfaces 21, 76-86.
6. Berg, M., 1997. Rationalizing Medical Work: Decision-Support Techniques and Medical Practices. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.
7. Boone, K., Porter, D.O., 1997. GOSSYM/COMAX - the quixotic quest. In: Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, Memphis, TN, vol. 1, pp. 380-383. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
8. Burrell, G., Morgan, G., 1979. Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis. Heinemann, London.
9. Carberry, P.S., Hochman, Z., McCown, R.L., 2002. The FARMSCAPE approach to decision support: Farmers,' Advisers,' Researchers' Monitoring, Simulation, Communication, And Performance Evaluation. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
10. Checkland, P.B., 1978. The origins and nature of 'hard' systems thinking. Journal of Applied Systems Analyis 5, 99-110.
11. Checkland, P.B., 1981. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. John Wiley, Chichester, UK.
12. Checkland, P.B., 1991. From optimising to learning. In: Flood, R.L., Jackson, M.C. (Eds.), Critical Systems Thinking: Directed Readings. John Wiley, Chichester, pp. 59-75.
13. Churchman, C.W., Schainblatt, A.H., 1965a. The researcher and the manager: a dialectic of implementation. Management Science 11, B69-B87.
14. Churchman, C.W., Schainblatt, A.H., 1965b. On mutual understanding. Management Science 12, B40-B42.
15. Clancey, W.J., 1997. Situated Cognition: On Human Knowledge and Computer Representations. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
16. Collins, H.M., 1990. Artificial Experts: Social Knowledge and Intelligent Machines. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
17. Collins, H.M., Kusch, M., 1998. The Shape of Actions: What Humans and Machines and Can Do. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
18. Cox, P.G., 1996. Some issues in the design of agricultural decision support systems. Agricultural Systems 52, 355-381.
19. Davis, F.D., 1989. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly September 319-340.
20. Davis, F.D., 1993. User acceptance of information technology: systems characteristics, user perceptions and behavioral impacts. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 38, 475-487.
21. Dent, J.B., 1990. Optimising the mixture of enterprises in a farming system. In: Jones, J.G.W., Street, P.R. (Eds.), Systems Theory Applied to Agriculture and the Food Chain. Elsevier Applied Science, London, pp. 113-130.
22. Donnelly, J.R., Freer, M., Moore, A.D., Simpson, R.J., Salmon, E., Dove, H., Bolger, T.P., 2002. Evolution of the GRAZPLAN decision support tools and adoption by the grazing industry in temperate Australia. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
23. Dreyfus, H.L., 1991. Being-in-the-World: A Commentary on Heidegger's Being and Time. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
24. Dreyfus, H.L., 1994. What Computers Still Can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
25. Feldman, J., 1986. On the difficulty of learning from experience. In: Sims, H.P., Gioia, D.A. (Eds.), The Thinking Organisation: Dynamics of Organisational Social Cognition. Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 263-292.
26. Flood, R.L., Ulrich, W., 1991. Testament to conversations on critical systems thinking between two systems practitioners. In: Flood, R.L., Jackson, M.C. (Eds.), Critical Systems Thinking: Directed Readings. John Wiley, Chichester, pp. 41-58.
27. Freer, M., Moore, A.D., Donnelly, J.R., 1997. GRAZPLAN: Decision support systems for Australian grazing enterprises. II. The animal biology model for feed intake, production and reproduction and the GrazFeed DSS. Agricultural Systems 54, 77-126.
28. Frost, F.M., 2000. Value orientations: impact and implications in the extension of complex farming systems. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 40, 511-518.
29. Gasson, R., 1973. Goals and values of farmers. Journal of Agricultural Economics 14, 521-538.
30. Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P., Trow, M., 1994. The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. Sage, London.
31. Goodell, P.B., Strand, J.F., Ostergard, M., 1993. Delivering expert systems to agriculture: experiences with CALEX/cotton. AI Applications 7, 14-20.
32. Habermas, J., 1971. Towards a Rational Society. Beacon Press, Boston, MA.
33. Hayman, P.T., Easdown, W.J., 2002. An ecology of a DSS: Reflections on managing wheat crops in the N.E. Australian grains region with WHEATMAN. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
34. Hearn, A.B., Bange, M.P., 2002. Computer-based decision support for the Australian cotton industry. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
35. Hirschheim, R., Klein, H.K., Lyytinen, K., 1995. Information Systems Development and Data Modeling: Conceptual Difficulties and Philosophical Foundations. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
36. Hochman, Z., Coutts, J.A., Carberry, P.S., McCown, R.L., 2000. The FARMSCAPE experience: Simulations aid participative learning in risky farming systems in Australia. In: Cerf, M., Gibbon, D., Hubert, B., Ison, R., Jiggins, J., Paine, M.S., Proost, J., Roling, N. (Eds.), 'Cow up a Tree': Learning and Knowing Processes for Change in Agriculture. Case Studies from Industrialised Countries. INRA Editions, Versailles Cedex, France, pp. 175-188.
37. Hodges, H.F., Whisler, F.D., Bridges, S.M., Reddy, K.R., 1998. Simulation in crop management: GOSSYM/COMAX. In: Peart, R.M., Curry, R.B., (Eds.), Agricultural Systems Modelling and Simulation. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp, 235-281.
38. Hofstede, G.J., 1992. Modesty in Modelling. Doctoral dissertion, Wageningen, Agricultural University, Department of Computer Science.
39. Howard, R.A., 1963. The practicality gap. Management Science 14, 503-507.
40. Humphreys, P.C., Berkeley, D., 1985. Handling uncertainty: levels of analysis of decision problems. In: Wright, G.N. (Ed.), Behavioral Decision Making. Plenum, New York.
41. Jackson, M.C., Keys, P., Cropper, S.A., 1989. Operational Research and the Social Sciences. Plenum Press, London.
42. Johnson, D.M., Erneling, C.E., 1997. The Future of the Cognitive Revolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
43. Jones, P., 1989. Agricultural applications of expert systems concepts. Agricultural Systems 31, 3-18.
44. Keating, B.A., Carberry, P.S., Hammer, G.L., Probert, M.E., Robertson, M.J., Holzworth, D., Huth, N.I., Hargreaves, J.N.G., Meinke, H., Hochman, Z., McLean, G., Verburg, K., Snow, V., Dimes, J.P., Silburn, M., Wang, E., Brown, S., Bristow, K.L., Asseng, S., Chapman, S., McCown, R.L., Freebairn, D.M., Smith, C.J. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM): its history and current capability. European Journal of Agronomy (in press).
45. Keen, P.G.W., 1975. Computer-based decision aids: the evaluation problem. Sloan Management Review 17-29.
46. Keen, P.G.W., 1987. Decision support systems: the next decade. Decision Support Systems 3, 253-265.
47. Keil, M., Beranek, P.M., Konsynski, B.R., 1995. Usefulness and ease of use: field study evidence regarding task considerations. Decision Support Systems 13, 75-91.
48. Little, J.D.C., 1970. Models and managers: the concept of a decision calculus. Management Science 16, B466-B485.
49. Malcolm, L.R., 1990. Fifty years of farm management in Australia: survey and review, Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics 58, 24-55.
50. Martin, C.J., Clarke, B.A., 1990. Executive information systems: recent developments and research imperatives. British Journal of Management 1, 27-34.
51. McCown, R.L., 2001. Learning to bridge the gap between scientific decision support and the practice of farming: Evolution in paradigms of model-based research and intervention from design to dialogue. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 549-571.
52. McCown, R.L., 2002. Locating agricultural decision support systems in the troubled past and sociotechnical complexity of 'models for management'. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
53. McCown, R.L., Keating, B.A., Carberry, P.S., Hochman, Z., Hargreaves, D.M.G., 2002. The coevolution of the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) and its use in Australian dryland cropping research and farm management intervention. In: Ahuja, L.R., Ma, L., Howell, T.A. (Eds.), Agricultural System Models in Field Research and Technology Transfer. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
54. Mingers, J., Gill, A., 1997. Multimethodology: The Theory and Practice of Combining Management Science Methodologies. John Wiley, West Sussex.
55. Mooney, P., 1988. My Own Boss?: Class, Rationality, and the Family Farm. Westview, Boulder, Colorado.
56. Moore, G.A., 1991. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers. Harper, New York.
57. Nardi, B.A., 1996. Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human-Computer Interaction. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
58. Naylor, T.H., 1982. Decision support systems or whatever happened to M.I.S? Interfaces 12, 192-194.
59. Nelson, R.A., Holzworth, D.P., Hammer, G.L., Hayman, P.T. Infusing the use of seasonal climate forecasting into crop management practice in North East Australia using discussion support software. Agricultural Systems special issue on Seasonal Climate Forecasting, in press.
60. Oquist, P., 1978. The epistemology of action research. Acta Sociologica 21, 43-163.
61. Ormerod, R., 1995. Putting soft OR methods to work: information systems strategy development at Sainsbury's. Journal of the Operational Research Society 46, 277-293.
62. Parker, C., 1999. Decision support systems: lessons from past failures. Farm Management 10, 273-289.
63. Plant, R.E., 1997. Implementation of cotton crop management expert systems: lessons from 10 years of experience. AI Applications 11, 33-39.
64. Plant, R.E., 1989. An integrated expert decision support system for agricultural management. Agricultural Systems 29, 49-66.
65. Plant, R.E., Stone, N.S., 1991. Knowledge-Based Systems in Agriculture. McGraw Hill, New York.
66. Popper, K.R., 1972. Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
67. Ravetz, J.R., 1971. Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. Oxford University Press, New York.
68. Reason, P., Bradbury, H., 2001. Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice. Sage Publications, London.
69. Rogers, E.M., 1995. Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press, New York.
70. Roling, N., 1988. Extension Science: Information Systems in Agricultural Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
71. Room, P.M., 1979. A prototype 'on-line' system for management of cotton pests in the Namoi valley, New South Wales. Protection Ecology 1, 245-264.
72. Rosenhead, J., 1989. Introduction: Old and New Paradigms of Analysis. Rational Analysis for a Problematic World. John Wiley, Chichester.
73. Ryan, B., Gross, N.C., 1943. The diffusion of hybrid seed corn in two Iowa communities. Rural Sociology 8, 15-24.
74. Ryle, G., 1949. The Concept of Mind. Penguin, New York.
75. Schon, D.A., 1983. The Reflective Practioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, USA.
76. Senge, P.M., 1990. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. Doubleday, New York.
77. Simon, H.A., 1996. The Sciences of the Artificial, second ed. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
78. Stabell, C.B., 1987. Decision support systems: alternative perspectives and schools. Decision Support Systems 3, 243-251.
79. Stuth, J.W., Hamilton, W.T., Conner, R., 2002. Insights in development and deployment of the GLA and NUTBAL decision support systems for grazing lands. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
80. Suchman, L.A., 1987. Plans and Situated Action: The Problem of Human-Machine Interaction. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
81. Ulrich, W., 1991. Systems thinking, systems practice, and practical philosophy: a program of research. In: Flood, R.L., Jackson, M.C. (Eds.), Critical Systems Thinking: Directed Readings. John Wiley, Chichester, pp. 245-268.
82. Wagner, P., Kuhlmann, F., 1991. Concept and implementation of an integrated decision support system (IDSS) for capital-intensive farming. Agricultural Economics 3, 287-310.
83. Watson, H.J., Hill, M.M., 1983. Decision support systems or what didn't happen with M.I.S. Interfaces 13, 81-88.
84. Welch, S.M., Jones, J.W., Brennan, M.W., Reeder, G., Jacobson, B.M., 2002. PCYield: Model-based decision support for soybean production. Agricultural Systems, this issue.
85. Winograd, T., Flores, F., 1986. Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Ablex, Norwood.
86. Zadoks, J.C., 1989. EPIPRE, A computer-based decision support system for pest and disease control in wheat: Its development and implementation in Europe. In: Leonard, K.J., Fry, W.E. (Eds.), Plant Disease Epidemiology Vol 2: Genetics, Resistance, and Management. McGraw-Hill, New York.