E-Book Content
The Social Cognitive Actor A multi-actor simulation of organisations
Commits_to Influences
Commits_to Influences Social construct
ACTOR X Cognitive Architecture
ACTOR Y Part_of
Part_of
Knowledge
Cognitive Architecture Knowledge
Expressed as
Commits_to
Personal Construct
Signs
Language action
Signs
Personal Construct
Content information Goals
Exists_in
Goals
Context / Organization
Exists_in
Umwelt
M A RT I N H E L M H O U T
Commits_to
Shared
Shared
Publisher:
Labyrint Publications Postbus 334 2984 AX Ridderkerk The Netherlands Tel: 0180-463962
Printed by:
Offsetdrukkerij Ridderprint B.V., Ridderkerk
ISBN-10: 90-5335-100-0 ISBN-13: 978-90-5335-100-0
© 2006, Martin Helmhout
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying or recording, without prior written permission of the publisher.
AT X document preparation system. This document was prepared using the L E
RijksUniversiteit Groningen
The Social Cognitive Actor A multi-actor simulation of organisations
Proefschrift
ter verkrijging van het doctoraat in de Bedrijfskunde aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen op gezag van de Rector Magnicus, dr. F. Zwarts, in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 30 november 2006 om 13.15 uur
door
Jan Martin Helmhout
geboren op 31 januari 1974 te Assen
Promotores:
Prof. dr. H. W. M. Gazendam Prof. dr. R. J. Jorna
Beoordelingscommissie:
Prof. dr. K. Liu Prof. dr. A. M. Sorge Prof. dr. R. Sun
Preface
The dissertation that is in your hands is the fruit of the last four years of research done in the eld of Multi-Agent Systems, Articial Intelligence, Informatics, Cognitive Science, Social Science and Organisation Studies.
Bringing together
different disciplines has been a challenging and a complex task. The outcome, put together in a simulation model, will hopefully help others discover new ways of practising the art of cognitive and social modelling. My background as a mechanical engineer may not seem to be in line with the research that I am currently involved in. Indeed, constructs of the philosophy of the mind, social construction, multi-actor software programs, and social behaviour seem to differ, in essence, from mechanical engineering. However, this dissertation focuses on the process of construction as in mechanics.
Only this time, the focus is on social construction.
It is probably the
topic of social construction that (re-)constructed my thoughts about the (social) world we live in. ´ Jorna I want to thank my promoters Prof. Henk Gazendam and Prof. Rene for this change in looking at the world around me. Although the many discussions I had about the functional structure of the mind and how social constructs, shared by people, inuence behaviour even at the lower level of thinking that complicated my vision of the world, they also challenged me to the extent of developing a workable model. The role of a PhD candidate is a social construction in its own right, created by a mutual agreement between the University of Groningen, the SOM research school, my promoters and I. I want to thank the University of Groningen, SOM and my promoters for giving me the opportunity to engage in this social construction.
Many people played an important role in contributing to the work delivered in this dissertation. In the early phase of my PhD, I worked to