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Global crises have forced the healthcare sector to advance the way they practise. Patient empowerment has emerged as one of the solutions to face these challenges. Nevertheless, patient empowerment is still lacking for accepted conditions, making it difficult to effectively promote within the healthcare system. This study aims to systemically map the concept of patient empowerment using principles of systems thinking with the Boardman Soft Systems Methodology that enables a graphical visualization (i.e., Systemigrams). This includes levels of patient empowerment and their relationship with other concepts such as health literacy, health providers, self‐management, patient characteristics and healthcare outcomes. This study contributes to the literature by (a) articulating a set of conditions to enable patient empowerment, (b) identifying the key concept that might influence the level of patient empowerment and (c) providing guidance and propositions for future research that can promote and further study patient empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies a systems thinking approach to sustainment-phase redesign planning for large-scale, complex, sustainment-dominated systems (SDSs) found in the airline, aerospace and defense, healthcare, and utilities industries. Maintaining the SDS's effectiveness throughout its long life presents a significant engineering and business challenge. This research contributes to the literature by developing an academically rigorous redesign-planning framework (RPF) through the lens of management and systems theories and the use of the grounded theory, research methodology. With the RPF, engineering managers can now simultaneously consider key issues, improvement opportunities, and risks of SDSs to develop and execute strategic, sustainment redesign plans that improve SDS performance at a lower lifecycle cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Schelling segregation model is a well-established representation of social issues in a neighbourhood. On the basis of the systems approach, a model of system of systems (SoS) that is validated through comparison with the Schelling model and applies to more neighbourhoods is proposed. The systems model of an SoS empirically demonstrates the potential for conflict to arise as the autonomy of systems within a geographically distributed SoS increases. The results may contribute to future international policy as well as ecological management. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of resilience has been used among a diversity of fields with a myriad of definitions. A systems approach to discovering the essence of resilience could aid in understanding its concept and provide opportunities to distinguish its systemic characteristics that can be identified, planned, or analyzed regardless of the field in which it is considered. In order to begin executing such an approach, a comprehensive study of the literature on the topic and circumstances in which resilience has been used or referred to in several fields of studies is necessary. In this paper, the conceptual common denominator of resilience is identified based on the results of a literature survey and according to the way it has been used in different contexts. This basis leads to the objective of this effort, and that is to recognize the systemic characteristics of resilience and demonstrate the defining of a universally accepted definition. Using a soft systems methodology and a supporting systemic diagramming technique entitled Systemigrams, we present the formulation of defining resilience in maritime homeland security. In this effort, many stakeholders contributed their thoughts and concerns on the meaning and operational use of resilience through a repetitive process to formulate a definition of the term. The result of this methodic approach is a general definition of resilience that has been refined in a collaborative environment via the application the Boardman Soft Systems Methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to optimize the process of complex system integration, it is necessary to first improve the management of the process. This can be accomplished through the use of a generally understood metric. One such metric is Technology Readiness Level (TRL), which is used to determine technology maturity, but does not address integration maturity. Integration Maturity Metric (IMM) requirements are developed through review of aerospace and defense related literature. These requirements are applied to currently existing integration maturity metrics, and the proposed Integration Readiness Level (IRL). IRL is then refined to fully meet these requirements, and applied to three aerospace case studies, along with the other identified metrics, to compare and contrast the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft systems methodology (SSM), an analytic method commonly employed in engineering and business research, produces models focused on human activities and relevant structures used to explain complex, engineered systems. The original version of SSM involves seven stages; five address real-world aspects and observable data, while two stages leverage a systems thinking viewpoint. This approach allows the development of a simplified depiction of complex systems representative of the multi-perspective lenses used to comprehend the systemic complexity of a problem and provide a clearer picture to analysts and decision makers. This bibliometric meta-analysis of 286 relevant publications in engineering, business, and other social sciences fields explores the historic impacts of SSM on academic research and systems thinking in relevant publications that described or employed SSM for research from 1980–2018. This study produced descriptive narrative outcomes and data visualizations including information about top SSM authors, author citation impacts, common dissemination outlets for SSM work, and other relevant metrics commonly used to measure academic impact. The goal of this piece is to depict who, what, why, when, and where SSM had the greatest impact on research, systems thinking, and methodology after nearly 40 years of use, as we look towards its future as a methodological approach used to comprehend complex problem situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]