Systems science
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Systems science, systemology (greco. σύστημα – systema, λόγος – logos) or system theory is an interdisciplinary field that studies the nature of systems—from simple to complex—in nature, society, cognition, and science itself. The field aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations that are applicable in a variety of areas, such as psychology, biology, medicine, communication, business management, engineering, and social sciences.[1]
System science covers formal sciences such as complex systems, cybernetics, dynamical systems theory, information theory, linguistics or systems theory. It has applications in the field of the natural and social sciences and engineering, such as control theory, operations research, social systems theory, systems biology, system dynamics, human factors, system ecology, systems engineering and systems psychology.[2] Themes commonly stressed in system science are (a) holistic view, (b) interaction between a system and its embedding environment, and (c) complex (often subtle) trajectories of dynamic behavior that sometimes are stable (and thus reinforcing), while at various 'boundary conditions' can become wildly unstable (and thus destructive). Concerns about Earth-scale biosphere/geosphere dynamics is an example of the nature of problems to which system science seeks to contribute meaningful insights.
Theories
Since the emergence of general system research in the 1950s,[3] system thinking and system science have developed into many theoretical frameworks.
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- System analysis
- System analysis is the branch of system science that analyzes systems, the interactions within those systems, and/or interaction with its environment,[4] often prior to their automation as computer models. This field is closely related to operations research.
- System design
- System design is the process of "establishing and specifying the optimum system component configuration for achieving specific goal or objective."[4] For example in computing, system design can define the hardware and system architecture which includes many sub-architectures including software architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data, as well as security, information, and others, for a computer system to satisfy specified requirements.
- System dynamics
- System dynamics is an approach to understanding the behavior of complex systems over time. It offers "simulation technique for modeling business and social systems,"[5] which deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behavior of the entire system. What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use of feedback loops and stocks and flows.
- System engineering
- System engineering (SE) is an interdisciplinary field of engineering, that focuses on the development and organization of complex systems. It is the "art and science of creating whole solutions to complex problems,"[6] for example: signal processing systems, control systems and communication system, or other forms of high-level modelling and design in specific fields of engineering.
- System methodologies
- There are several types of System Methodologies, that is, disciplines for analysis of systems. For example:
- Soft system methodology (SSM) : in the field of organizational studies is an approach to organisational process modelling, and it can be used both for general problem solving and in the management of change. It was developed in England by academics at the University of Lancaster System Department through a ten-year Action Research programme.
- System development methodology (SDM) in the field of IT development is a variety of structured, organized processes for developing information technology and embedded software systems.
- Viable system approach (vSa) is a methodology useful for the understanding and governance of complex phenomena; it has been successfully proposed in the field of management, decision making, marketing and service.
- System theories
- System theory is an interdisciplinary field that studies complex systems in nature, society, and science. More specifically, it is a conceptual framework by which one can analyze and/or describe any group of objects that work in concert to produce some result.
- System science
- System sciences are scientific disciplines partly based on system thinking such as chaos theory, complex systems, control theory, cybernetics, sociotechnical system theory, system biology, system chemistry, system ecology, system psychology and the already mentioned system dynamics, system engineering, and systems theory.
Fields
Systems sciences cover formal sciences like dynamical system theory and applications in the natural and social sciences and engineering, such as social system theory and system dynamics.
System scientists
General systems scientists can be divided into different generations. The founders of the systems movement like Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, James Grier Miller, George J. Klir, and Anatol Rapoport were all born between 1900 and 1920. They all came from different natural and social science disciplines and joined forces in the 1950s to establish the general system theory paradigm. Along with the organization of their efforts a first generation of system scientists rose.
Among them were other scientists like Ackoff, Ashby, Margaret Mead and Churchman, who popularized the system concept in the 1950s and 1960s. These scientists inspired and educated a second generation with more notable scientists like Ervin Laszlo (1932) and Fritjof Capra (1939), who wrote about system theory in the 1970s and 1980s. Others got acquainted and started studying these works in the 1980s and started writing about it since the 1990s. Debora Hammond can be seen as a typical representative of these third generation of general system scientists.
Organizations
The International Society for the System Sciences (ISSS) is an organisation for interdisciplinary collaboration and synthesis of system sciences. The ISSS is unique among systems-oriented institutions in terms of the breadth of its scope, bringing together scholars and practitioners from academic, business, government, and non-profit organizations. Based on fifty years of tremendous interdisciplinary research from the scientific study of complex systems to interactive approaches in management and community development. This society was initially conceived in 1954 at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport.
In the field of system science the International Federation for System Research (IFSR) is an international federation for global and local societies in the field of system science. This federation is a non-profit, scientific and educational agency founded in 1981, and constituted of some thirty member organizations from various countries. The overall purpose of this Federation is to advance cybernetic and system research and system applications and to serve the international system community.
The best known research institute in the field is the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, dedicated to the study of complex systems. This institute was founded in 1984 by George Cowan, David Pines, Stirling Colgate, Murray Gell-Mann, Nick Metropolis, Herb Anderson, Peter A. Carruthers, and Richard Slansky. All but Pines and Gell-Mann were scientists with Los Alamos National Laboratory. SFI's original mission was to disseminate the notion of a separate interdisciplinary research area, complexity theory referred to at SFI as complexity science.
See also
References
- ^ Philip M'Pherson (1974, p. 229); as cited by: Hieronymi, A. (2013), Understanding System Science: A Visual and Integrative Approach. Syst. Res.. doi:10.1002/sres.2215. He defined system science as "the ordered arrangement of knowledge acquired from the study of systems in the observable world, together with the application of this knowledge to the design of man-made systems."
- ^ According to Francis Heylighen in "What are Cybernetics and System Science?" on Principia Cybernetica Web (1999) system science is an "academic domain, that touches virtually all traditional disciplines, from mathematics, technology and biology to philosophy and the social sciences."
- ^ Robert L. Flood (1993) Dealing with Complexity: : An Introduction to the Theory and Application of System Science. p. 3
- ^ a b Anthony Debons. "Command and Control: Technology and Social Impact" in: Advances in computers, Vol. 11. Franz L. Alt & Morris Rubinoff eds. (1971). p. 362
- ^ Center for Complex Adaptive Agent Systems Simulation Argonne National Laboratory (2007) Managing Business Complexity : Discovering Strategic Solutions with Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation: Discovering Strategic Solutions with Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation. Oxford University Press. p. 55
- ^ Derek K. Hitchins (2008) System Engineering: A 21st Century System Methodology. p. 100
Further reading
- B. A. Bayraktar, Education in System Science, 1979, 369 pp.
- Kenneth D. Bailey, "Fifty Years of System Science:Further Reflections", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 22, 2005, pp. 355–361. doi:10.1002/sres.711
- Robert L. Flood, Ewart R Carson, Dealing with Complexity: An Introduction to the Theory and Application of System Science, 1988.
- George J. Klir, Facets of System Science, Plenum Press, 1991.
- Ervin László, System Science and World Order: Selected Studies, 1983.
- G. E. Mobus & M. C. Kalton, Principles of System Science, 2015, New York:Springer.
- Anatol Rapoport (ed.), General Systems: Yearbook of the Society for the Advancement of General System Theory, Society for General System Research, Vol 1., 1956.
- Li D. Xu, "The contributions of System Science to Information System Research", System Research and Behavioral Science, 17, 2000, pp. 105–116.
- Graeme Donald Snooks, "A general theory of complex living systems: Exploring the demand side of dynamics", Complexity, vol. 13, no. 6, July/August 2008.
- John N. Warfield, "A proposal for Systems Science", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 20, 2003, pp. 507–520. doi:10.1002/sres.528
External links
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