Browsing by Author "Strümpfer, Johan"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Computing free energy hypersurfaces for anisotropic intermolecular associations
    (2009) Strümpfer, Johan; Naidoo, Kevin J
    Adaptive reaction coordinate force biaisng methods have been previously used for calculating the free energy of conformation and chemical reactions amongst others. Here a generalized method is described that is able to produce free energies in multiple dimension, descriptively named the free energies from adaptive reaction coordinate forces (FEARCF) method. To illustrate it a multidemensional intermolecular orientational free energy surface is calculated, and it is demonstrated how to invesrigate complex systems such as protein conformation and liquids.
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    Defining the human resource processes required to support world class manufacturing
    (1996) Middleton, Paul William Warren; Strümpfer, Johan
    The aim of this project was to use soft systems methodology (SSM) in an industrial environment to tackle an unstructured problem. An agreement was made with a local company that the project would be of benefit both to them and the author. Whilst the aims of the project were initially defined (see Appendix 1), the use of SSM entailed surfacing the issues without a pre-defined area of concern. The project involved two main groups from the company. Group 1 was the HR2000 committee (a group that had already been formed by the company to lead the initiative to bring the organisation's human resources towards an, as yet undefined, goal in the year 2000). Group 1 would be directly involved in the project. Group 2, the manufacturing line managers, would be kept fully informed throughout the process.
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    The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach
    (1999) Day, Julian; Strümpfer, Johan
    This thesis uses a systems approach to develop a model for Collaborative Project Design (CPD). Failure of the software process is the area of concern. The focus of the argument is, however, on the organizational environment of the software process. A central argument is that the analytic tools of standard software development methodologies are inappropriate for systems synthesis. They provide little assistance in coping with the loose complexity that is inherent in the organizational environment in which the software process is embedded. These analytic tools and the engineering language and metaphor which dominate the software process undermine collaboration and disempower business users. CPD was developed to enable viable collaboration that is necessary for the software process to succeed. The purpose of CPD is to provide a systemic model of causal influences and social process in order to guide a project designer when intervening in projects which call for acts of shared creation and/or discovery. CPD was developed through a combination of action research (in projects involving software development and organisational transformation) and theoretical readings focused on the philosophy of meaning, systems thinking, social process and the software process. CPD emphasises that a collaborative project requires careful design of its underlying languages, metaphors and conversations. It identifies three distinct types of conversation, namely communication, dialogue and collaboration. The thesis describes how these conversation types are utilised in transforming a project's network of commitments from loose complexity via shared meaning to cohesive simplicity. Associated with each conversation type is a set of project influences which are developed into a causal influence model in order to depict a collaborative project as a dynamic system of mutually interdependent influences. This causal influence model was used to synthesise the learning from action research and the theoretical readings. An appreciative systems framework was then derived in order to justify a collaborative project as a self-regulating social system and was overlaid onto the causal influence model in order to derive CPD in its final form. CPD proved beneficial when tested in practical projects as a framework to organise a project designer's mind when designing project interventions.
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    Hydration-determined orientational preferences in aromatic association from benzene dimer free energy volumes
    (American Chemical Society, 2012) Gamieldien, Riedaa M; Strümpfer, Johan; Naidoo, Kevin J
    In this study of the thermodynamics of benzene association in water, we show that although the potential energy and enthalpy play an important role in the association of benzene dimers, they do not determine the relative orientation of these molecules on close contact in solution. We observe a large variation in the configurations that contribute to the vacuum (i.e., solvent-free) minimum free energy wells of the benzene contact pair. In water, fewer and smaller minimum free energy wells are observed. On examination, we find that fewer close contact configurations of benzene dimers populate these wells and that they are more energetically distinct from each other (compared with the vacuum case). The edge-over-edge configuration is most likely in solution and appears to evolve from the entropically favored side-by-side solvent shared configuration. Therefore, the relative orientation of the benzene molecules (i.e., parallel displaced, T-shaped, etc.) on association is a result of maximizing the contribution of the benzene benzene entropy of association, to the solution free energy.
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    A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom
    (1998) Acton, Mark; Strümpfer, Johan
    The argument of this dissertation is that some of the dilemmas faced by enterprises today are a consequence of the 'authoritarian mode'1 in which enterprises are organized. The 'authoritarian mode' of organization has the assumptions of the mechanistic world view (paradigm) as its basis. These assumptions are however not relevant in fast changing and complex environments such as that which enterprises must deal with today. It is argued that an alternative paradigm is required to resolve the dilemmas faced by enterprises organized in the 'authoritarian mode'. The dissertation presents an 'empowerment and alignment' 2 mode of organization which has the social systems paradigm as its basis. The social systems paradigm has a significantly different set of assumptions about the nature of reality compared to the mechanistic paradigm. It is proposed that this more appropriate set of assumptions will resolve the current dilemmas which mechanistically organized enterprises are experiencing. A real world organization (namely Telkom Network Build) is used to practically demonstrate the above mentioned ideas. It is argued that Telkom Network Build is operating in the 'authoritarian mode' and that this is the underlying cause of a number of dilemmas of organization. A proposed conceptual design for the organization of Telkom Network Build division in the 'alignment and empowerment' mode is presented. The proposed design has the assumptions of the social systems view of reality as its basis.
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    Towards heuristic systems methods for generating new knowledge in post-industrial business
    (1999) Topp, Warren Kent; Strümpfer, Johan
    The contribution of the current work is to appropriate aspects of post-modern philosophy into systems methods that support new knowledge creation in post-industrial business. The author has developed a three-part model of the organization as a knowledge system: The first component is the formative system, which enables or regulates what can be expressed and thought by individuals within a specific business situation. The second component is the individual subject, who has a set of a priori concepts and systems ideas that guide his or her thoughts, utterances, and actions. The last component of the model is the conversation system, which describes the interface between the formative system and the individual subject. Three heuristic methods, which support interventions aimed at specific areas of the model, are developed...
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    Using a systems based methodology to redesign a medium sized family business
    (1999) Augoustides, Casey; Strümpfer, Johan