Gerald Midgley
Biographic Data
| ID | 331528 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gerald Midgley |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gerald |
| FAMILY NAME | Midgley |
| SIGNATURE | MIDGLEY G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Centre for Systems Studies, Faculty of Business, Law and Politics University of Hull Hull UK |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0390-1392 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 69 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Emergent Innovation in Systemic Programme Design
Our theory of education, based on a systemic understanding of the subjective and intersubjective construction of knowledge, is that students are motivated to study what is most meaningful to them. Meaningfulness is grounded in the students' prior experiences, which are highly diverse. Also, the contexts and anticipated futures of students are different from those of their lecturers, so students mostly have a better understanding than staff of wha…
Festschrift for Mike Jackson
This is the editorial for a festschrift for Mike Jackson. We begin by outlining six phases of Jackson's research, from 1982 to the present day: an initial critique of soft systems thinking and soft operational research (OR); a proposal for methodological pluralism to overcome the hard/soft divide; a description of an ‘enhanced systems/OR’ that acknowledges the complexities, uncertainties and conflicts regularly encountered in practice; the furthe…
Accommodation and critique
A dilemma in critical systems thinking is how to balance a desire for critique to inspire far‐reaching transformations in society with the requirement for people to reach accommodations to enable on‐the‐ground change. Both critique and accommodation are necessary to realise transformations, yet they are often in tension. If critique is undertaken by lone researchers and prioritised over accommodation, then the lack of stakeholder buy‐in can lead …
Alexander Bogdanov and the question of unity
In this paper, we propose a research agenda to support the recovery of Alexander Bogdanov's philosophical and systemic thinking that culminated in his magnum opus, Tektology . Our main reason for doing so is to re‐address enduring questions about the unity of science and the unity of the systems paradigm. Since the turn of the new millennium, there has been renewed interest in the ideal of the unity of science. General system theory (GST), cybern…
Resurrecting Bogdanov on the 150th anniversary of his birth
Welcome to this special issue of Systems Research and Behavioral Science on the work of Alexander Bogdanov and its contemporary value to systems thinking and systems science. In this editorial, we first say a little about who Bogdanov was, and why his legacy is relevant to our research community. Then we explain how we came to be editing this special issue. Finally, we introduce each of the papers that have been accepted for publication
Systemic innovation
Festschrift for Mike Jackson
A systems perspective on systemic innovation
The term ‘systemic innovation’ is increasing in use, but there is no consensus on its meaning: five understandings of the term can be identified, each based on a different view of what the word ‘systemic’ should refer to. The first understanding focuses on technologies, where the innovation in focus is synergistically integrated with other complementary innovations, going beyond the boundaries of a single organization. Therefore, ‘systemic’ refer…
Expertise in research integration and implementation for tackling complex problems
Expertise in research integration and implementation is an essential but often overlooked component of tackling complex societal and environmental problems. We focus on expertise relevant to any complex problem, especially contributory expertise, divided into ‘knowing-that’ and ‘knowing-how.’ We also deal with interactional expertise and the fact that much expertise is tacit. We explore three questions. First, in examining ‘when is expertise in r…
Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice
The language of co-creation has become popular with policy makers, researchers and consultants wanting to support evidence-based change. However, there is little agreement about what features a research or consultancy project must have for peers to recognise the project as co-creative, and therefore for it to contribute to the growing body of practice and theory under that heading. This means that scholars and practitioners do not have a shared b…
Ten essentials for action-oriented and second order energy transitions, transformations and climate change research
The most critical question for climate research is no longer about the problem, but about how to facilitate the transformative changes necessary to avoid catastrophic climate-induced change. Addressing this question, however, will require massive upscaling of research that can rapidly enhance learning about transformations. Ten essentials for guiding action-oriented transformation and energy research are therefore presented, framed in relation to…
Systemic intervention
Action research in a problem avoiding culture using a Buddhist systems methodology
Problem avoidance can be an issue in both Eastern and Western cultures, and in some Eastern contexts it can stem from the desire to promote organizational harmony: identifying problems can lead to blame, thereby fracturing harmonious relationships. The authors have developed and applied a Buddhist systems methodology (BSM) to counteract problem avoidance in Taiwanese Buddhist organizations. Unlike many Western action research approaches, which re…
Systemic Intervention for Public Health
Many calls have been made for a systems approach to public health. My response is to offer a methodology for systemic intervention that (1) emphasizes the need to explore stakeholder values and boundaries for analysis, (2) challenges marginalization, and (3) draws upon a wide range of methods (from the systems literature and beyond) to create a flexible and responsive systems practice. I present and discuss several well-tested methods with a view…
Continuing the dialogue
Systems/operational research and sustainable development
At the 2002 International Sustainable Development Research Conference in Manchester, a great number of the 53 papers presented addressed exciting methodological developments associated with action research. Many of these initiatives can be linked with the rich tradition of operational research (OR). OR and environmental planning for sustainable development share three traditions: first, both have wide boundaries in terms of clientele, range of me…
Systemic Intervention
This book aims to rethink systemic intervention to enhance its relevance for supporting social change in the 21st Century. It offers a new systems philosophy and methodology, focusing upon the fundamental importance of exploring value and boundary judgements as part of the intervention process. A pluralist practice is also promoted, and the reader learns how s/he can draw upon a wide variety of theories and methods to maximise flexibility and res…
Ten essentials for action-oriented and second order energy transitions, transformations and climate change research
The most critical question for climate research is no longer about the problem, but about how to facilitate the transformative changes necessary to avoid catastrophic climate-induced change. Addressing this question, however, will require massive upscaling of research that can rapidly enhance learning about transformations. Ten essentials for guiding action-oriented transformation and energy research are therefore presented, framed in relation to…
Systemic Intervention for Public Health
Many calls have been made for a systems approach to public health. My response is to offer a methodology for systemic intervention that (1) emphasizes the need to explore stakeholder values and boundaries for analysis, (2) challenges marginalization, and (3) draws upon a wide range of methods (from the systems literature and beyond) to create a flexible and responsive systems practice. I present and discuss several well-tested methods with a view…
Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice
The language of co-creation has become popular with policy makers, researchers and consultants wanting to support evidence-based change. However, there is little agreement about what features a research or consultancy project must have for peers to recognise the project as co-creative, and therefore for it to contribute to the growing body of practice and theory under that heading. This means that scholars and practitioners do not have a shared b…
Action research in a problem avoiding culture using a Buddhist systems methodology
Problem avoidance can be an issue in both Eastern and Western cultures, and in some Eastern contexts it can stem from the desire to promote organizational harmony: identifying problems can lead to blame, thereby fracturing harmonious relationships. The authors have developed and applied a Buddhist systems methodology (BSM) to counteract problem avoidance in Taiwanese Buddhist organizations. Unlike many Western action research approaches, which re…
Accommodation and critique
A dilemma in critical systems thinking is how to balance a desire for critique to inspire far‐reaching transformations in society with the requirement for people to reach accommodations to enable on‐the‐ground change. Both critique and accommodation are necessary to realise transformations, yet they are often in tension. If critique is undertaken by lone researchers and prioritised over accommodation, then the lack of stakeholder buy‐in can lead …
Systems/operational research and sustainable development
At the 2002 International Sustainable Development Research Conference in Manchester, a great number of the 53 papers presented addressed exciting methodological developments associated with action research. Many of these initiatives can be linked with the rich tradition of operational research (OR). OR and environmental planning for sustainable development share three traditions: first, both have wide boundaries in terms of clientele, range of me…
Systemic Intervention
This book aims to rethink systemic intervention to enhance its relevance for supporting social change in the 21st Century. It offers a new systems philosophy and methodology, focusing upon the fundamental importance of exploring value and boundary judgements as part of the intervention process. A pluralist practice is also promoted, and the reader learns how s/he can draw upon a wide variety of theories and methods to maximise flexibility and res…
Continuing the dialogue
Systems/operational research and sustainable development
At the 2002 International Sustainable Development Research Conference in Manchester, a great number of the 53 papers presented addressed exciting methodological developments associated with action research. Many of these initiatives can be linked with the rich tradition of operational research (OR). OR and environmental planning for sustainable development share three traditions: first, both have wide boundaries in terms of clientele, range of me…
Systemic Intervention for Public Health
Many calls have been made for a systems approach to public health. My response is to offer a methodology for systemic intervention that (1) emphasizes the need to explore stakeholder values and boundaries for analysis, (2) challenges marginalization, and (3) draws upon a wide range of methods (from the systems literature and beyond) to create a flexible and responsive systems practice. I present and discuss several well-tested methods with a view…
Action research in a problem avoiding culture using a Buddhist systems methodology
Problem avoidance can be an issue in both Eastern and Western cultures, and in some Eastern contexts it can stem from the desire to promote organizational harmony: identifying problems can lead to blame, thereby fracturing harmonious relationships. The authors have developed and applied a Buddhist systems methodology (BSM) to counteract problem avoidance in Taiwanese Buddhist organizations. Unlike many Western action research approaches, which re…
Systemic intervention
Ten essentials for action-oriented and second order energy transitions, transformations and climate change research
The most critical question for climate research is no longer about the problem, but about how to facilitate the transformative changes necessary to avoid catastrophic climate-induced change. Addressing this question, however, will require massive upscaling of research that can rapidly enhance learning about transformations. Ten essentials for guiding action-oriented transformation and energy research are therefore presented, framed in relation to…
Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice
The language of co-creation has become popular with policy makers, researchers and consultants wanting to support evidence-based change. However, there is little agreement about what features a research or consultancy project must have for peers to recognise the project as co-creative, and therefore for it to contribute to the growing body of practice and theory under that heading. This means that scholars and practitioners do not have a shared b…
Expertise in research integration and implementation for tackling complex problems
Expertise in research integration and implementation is an essential but often overlooked component of tackling complex societal and environmental problems. We focus on expertise relevant to any complex problem, especially contributory expertise, divided into ‘knowing-that’ and ‘knowing-how.’ We also deal with interactional expertise and the fact that much expertise is tacit. We explore three questions. First, in examining ‘when is expertise in r…
A systems perspective on systemic innovation
The term ‘systemic innovation’ is increasing in use, but there is no consensus on its meaning: five understandings of the term can be identified, each based on a different view of what the word ‘systemic’ should refer to. The first understanding focuses on technologies, where the innovation in focus is synergistically integrated with other complementary innovations, going beyond the boundaries of a single organization. Therefore, ‘systemic’ refer…
Systemic innovation
Festschrift for Mike Jackson
Alexander Bogdanov and the question of unity
In this paper, we propose a research agenda to support the recovery of Alexander Bogdanov's philosophical and systemic thinking that culminated in his magnum opus, Tektology . Our main reason for doing so is to re‐address enduring questions about the unity of science and the unity of the systems paradigm. Since the turn of the new millennium, there has been renewed interest in the ideal of the unity of science. General system theory (GST), cybern…
Resurrecting Bogdanov on the 150th anniversary of his birth
Welcome to this special issue of Systems Research and Behavioral Science on the work of Alexander Bogdanov and its contemporary value to systems thinking and systems science. In this editorial, we first say a little about who Bogdanov was, and why his legacy is relevant to our research community. Then we explain how we came to be editing this special issue. Finally, we introduce each of the papers that have been accepted for publication
Festschrift for Mike Jackson
This is the editorial for a festschrift for Mike Jackson. We begin by outlining six phases of Jackson's research, from 1982 to the present day: an initial critique of soft systems thinking and soft operational research (OR); a proposal for methodological pluralism to overcome the hard/soft divide; a description of an ‘enhanced systems/OR’ that acknowledges the complexities, uncertainties and conflicts regularly encountered in practice; the furthe…
Accommodation and critique
A dilemma in critical systems thinking is how to balance a desire for critique to inspire far‐reaching transformations in society with the requirement for people to reach accommodations to enable on‐the‐ground change. Both critique and accommodation are necessary to realise transformations, yet they are often in tension. If critique is undertaken by lone researchers and prioritised over accommodation, then the lack of stakeholder buy‐in can lead …
Emergent Innovation in Systemic Programme Design
Our theory of education, based on a systemic understanding of the subjective and intersubjective construction of knowledge, is that students are motivated to study what is most meaningful to them. Meaningfulness is grounded in the students' prior experiences, which are highly diverse. Also, the contexts and anticipated futures of students are different from those of their lecturers, so students mostly have a better understanding than staff of wha…
Complex Systems and Decision Making (12 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Social science (5 works) · Business (4 works) · Engineering (4 works) · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development (4 works) · Management science (4 works)