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Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The concept of 'systems' is certainly popular but is unfortunately almost meaningless. Like the general systems theory view of a system as "anything and everything," the systems concept is impractical and intractable. Additions to systems theory due to Klir, Rescher, Palmer and others help create a more practical ontology from which to base systems research. Klir's systems model depicts systems as meta level structural and temporal descriptions which form an infinite regress to a point at infinity which is the unknowable system. This model can guide us in agriculture to help present the multidimensional nature of agricultural systems in a form where common structural and temporal elements can be noticed. By publishing systems papers in the context of Klir's model and using the systems characteristics of Rescher -- wholeness, completeness, self-sufficiency, cohesiveness, consonance, architectonic, functional unity, functional regularity, functional simplicity, mutual supportiveness, functional efficacy -- a rigorous Ag. Systems research discipline may emerge. |
