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Dissertation Information for Mark Steven Silver

NAME:
- Mark Steven Silver

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Decision Sciences

SCHOOL:
- University of Pennsylvania (USA) (1986)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: DIFFERENTIAL ANALYSIS FOR COMPUTER-BASED DECISION SUPPORT

Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to begin to explore the ways in which computer-based systems affect decision-making processes. More specifically, the research task is to identify and examine system attributes that describe and differentiate "entire" Decision Support Systems (DSS) in terms of their effects on the way decisions are made.

The emphasis placed on analyzing "entire" systems is essential to this study. If we are to understand the role of computer-based systems in supporting decision makers, we must examine not only individual functional capabilities, but how those capabilities fit together synergistically to form complete systems whose effects on decision-making behavior are different than the sum of the effects of their parts. We must consider not just what a system can do, but what its users can do with it.

The dissertation is divided into two parts: the first four chapters address preliminary issues that provide a context for the examination of system attributes in the remaining four chapters. The first part--which includes original concepts as well as a critical examination and integration of existing DSS research--begins by establishing a foundation for the study of DSS that emphasizes the process view of decision making and DSS as interventions into decision-making processes. A framework for DSS research and practice is constructed on top of this foundation, and the segment of the framework pertaining most to system attributes is examined in detail.

Drawing heavily on the material already presented, the second part of the dissertation introduces and explores three attributes: System Restrictiveness, System Guidance, and System Focus. "Restrictiveness" refers to the way in which a system limits decision makers to a subset of all possible processes. "Guidance" concerns the way a system assists its users in the "meta-process" of defining a decision-making process. "Focus" reflects the specialization of a system's operators in terms of their roles in supporting decision-making processes.

For each attribute, two key practitioner concerns are addressed: how to describe a system and how to design a system in terms of the attribute. Interactions between attributes are studied, and two DSS are analyzed in terms of the attributes.

MPACT Scores for Mark Steven Silver

A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:14:48

Advisors and Advisees Graph

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Students under Mark Steven Silver

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- Songqiao Liu - University of California, Los Angeles (1993)