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Complexity and Creative Capacity: Rethinking knowledge transfer, adaptive management and wicked environmental problems (Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies)
by Kelly ChapmanComplexity theories gained prominence in the 1990s with a focus on self-organising and complex adaptive systems. Since then, complexity theory has become one of the fastest growing topics in both the natural and social sciences, and touted as a revolutionary way of understanding the behaviour of complex systems. This book uses complexity theory to surface and challenge the deeply held cultural assumptions that shape how we think about reality and knowledge. In doing so it shows how our traditional approaches to generating and applying knowledge may be paradoxically exacerbating some of the ‘wicked’ environmental problems we are currently facing. The author proposes an innovative and compelling argument for rejecting old constructs of knowledge transfer, adaptive management and adaptive capacity. The book also presents a distinctively coherent and comprehensive synthesis of cognition, learning, knowledge and organizing from a complexity perspective. It concludes with a reconceptualization of the problem of knowledge transfer from a complexity perspective, proposing the concept of creative capacity as an alternative to adaptive capacity as a measure of resilience in socio-ecological systems. Although written from an environmental management perspective, it is relevant to the broader natural sciences and to a range of other disciplines, including knowledge management, organizational learning, organizational management, and the philosophy of science.
Complexity and Emergence in Market Ecosystems (New Economic Windows)
by Francesco Polese Debora Sarno Stephen Louis VargoThis book delves into the intricacies of transformative processes, focusing particularly on radical and disruptive changes that shape markets, social systems, organizations, cities, and service ecosystems. In a world characterized by turbulence, unpredictability, and complex challenges, managers and marketers are tasked with navigating change and driving progress. Drawing on frameworks, typologies, and insights from diverse theories—including complexity theory, emergence theory, and service-dominant logic—this book equips academics and practitioners with the tools to analyze, understand, and facilitate the transformation of their systems. Rooted in research and discussions from international academic events such as the Naples Forum on Service and the Forum of Markets and Marketing, this book offers invaluable guidance for those seeking to design sustainable transformations in today's dynamic landscape.
Complexity and Emergence: Lake Como School of Advanced Studies, Italy, July 22–27, 2018 (Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics #383)
by Sergio Albeverio Emanuela Rosazza Gianin Stefania Ugolini Elisa MastrogiacomoThis book includes contributions about mathematics, physics, philosophy of science, economics and finance and resulted from the Summer School “Complexity and Emergence: Ideas, Methods, with a Special Attention to Economics and Finance” held in Lake Como School of Advanced Studies, on 22–27 July 2018.The aim of the book is to provide useful instruments from the theory of complex systems, both on the theoretical level and the methodological ones, profiting from knowledge and insights from leading experts of different communities. It moves from the volume editors' conviction that to achieve progress in understanding socio-economical as well as ecological problems of our complex word such preparation is needed, together with a critical reconsideration of our basic scientific and economical approach.The potential readers are primarily master and doctorate students of mathematics, information sciences, theoretical physics and economics, as well as research workers in those areas, who want to enlarge their spectrum of knowledge towards the area of complexity and emergence. Since ideas and methods of the theory of complex systems also apply to other areas (from engineering and architecture to biology and medicine, e.g.), students and research workers from those areas will also profit from this book.
Complexity and Nonlinearity in Cardiovascular Signals
by Gaetano Valenza Enzo Pasquale Scilingo Riccardo BarbieriThis book reports on the latest advances in complex and nonlinear cardiovascular physiology aimed at obtaining reliable, effective markers for the assessment of heartbeat, respiratory, and blood pressure dynamics. The chapters describe in detail methods that have been previously defined in theoretical physics such as entropy, multifractal spectra, and Lyapunov exponents, contextualized within physiological dynamics of cardiovascular control, including autonomic nervous system activity. Additionally, the book discusses several application scenarios of these methods. The text critically reviews the current state-of-the-art research in the field that has led to the description of dedicated experimental protocols and ad-hoc models of complex physiology. This text is ideal for biomedical engineers, physiologists, and neuroscientists. This book also: Expertly reviews cutting-edge research, such as recent advances in measuring complexity, nonlinearity, and information-theoretic concepts applied to coupled dynamical systems Comprehensively describes applications of analytic technique to clinical scenarios such as heart failure, depression and mental disorders, atrial fibrillation, acute brain lesions, and more Broadens readers' understanding of cardiovascular signals, heart rate complexity, heart rate variability, and nonlinear analysis
Complexity and Simplicity in Science Education
by David Geelan Christine V. McDonald Kim NicholsThis edited volume brings together a broad range of international science education studies, focusing on the interplay of teaching and learning science. It recognizes the complexity present in today’s education, associated with major science related issues faced by society, such as climate change, diseases and pandemics, global conflicts over energy, food and water.The studies discussed in this volume are focused on presenting different opportunities to teach these convoluted matters in order to find simplicity within the complexity and make it accessible to learners. They bring together the challenges of preparing the students of today to become scientifically informed citizens of tomorrow.
Complexity and Sustainability in Megaprojects: MeRIT Workshop 2022 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #342)
by Franca Cantoni Edoardo FavariThis book showcases the discussion about megaprojects carried out at the MeRIT (Megaproject Research Interdisciplinary Team) workshop 2022: the crisis, discontinuity, rising prices, and supply chains disruption force radical reflection for those involved in megaprojects. It raises a modern-day challenge, the creation of value for stakeholders. Indeed, the aim of the volume is to encourage readers to think more broadly, articulately and less stringently than the mainstream claims. There is a need to design, implement, and manage megaprojects by abandoning the old paradigm that leveraged solely on time and cost. We need to move beyond that by going to explore the value generated, the positive impact on people, communities and territories. Economic, social and environmental sustainability takes on a new and broader articulation: issues of the circular economy applied to megaprojects are addressed and ample space is ensured for the inclusion of social needs in current practices.
Complexity and Sustainability in Megaprojects: MeRIT Workshop 2023 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #493)
by Franca Cantoni Edoardo Favari Laura Corazza Ernesto De Nito Primiano Di NautaThis book showcases the discussion about megaprojects carried out at the MeRIT (Megaproject Research Interdisciplinary Team) workshop 2023: the crisis, discontinuity, rising prices, and supply chains disruption force radical reflection for those involved in megaprojects. It raises a modern-day challenge, the creation of value for stakeholders. Indeed, the aim of the volume is to encourage readers to think more broadly, articulately and less stringently than the mainstream claims. There is a need to design, implement, and manage megaprojects by abandoning the old paradigm that leveraged solely on time and cost. We need to move beyond that by going to explore the value generated, the positive impact on people, communities and territories. Economic, social and environmental sustainability takes on a new and broader articulation: issues of the circular economy applied to megaprojects are addressed and ample space is ensured for the inclusion of social needs in current practices.
Complexity and Synergetics
by Stefan C. Müller Peter J. Plath Günter Radons Armin FuchsAll of us are confronted with complex phenomena occurring in daily life and in the living and inanimate nature surrounding us. Our scientific curiosity strives to unravel the mechanisms at work to create such complexity. Among various approaches to solve this problem, the field of synergetics, developed by Hermann Haken, has proven very successful as a general and interdisciplinary concept for describing and explaining complex phenomena that appear in systems under non-equilibrium conditions. These comprise dynamical states in evolving systems, spatial structure-forming processes, synchronization of states and regulatory mechanisms, and many other examples. The encompassing concepts have been applied to many disciplines, like physics, chemistry, biology, and beyond those also from synergetics to information theory, brain science, economics, and others. Starting from basic methods of complexity research and synergetics, this volume contains thirty contributions on complex systems that exhibit spontaneous pattern formation far from thermal equilibrium. Written by international experts and young researchers assembled under one roof, this volume reflects state of the art research from a variety of scientific fields and disciplines where complexity theory and synergetics are important or even indispensable tools today and in the future.
Complexity and the Arrow of Time
by Michael Ruse Charles H. Lineweaver Paul C. W. Davies Charles H. Lineweaver Paul C. W. DaviesThere is a widespread assumption that the universe in general, and life in particular, is 'getting more complex with time'. This book brings together a wide range of experts in science, philosophy and theology and unveils their joint effort in exploring this idea. They confront essential problems behind the theory of complexity and the role of life within it: what is complexity? When does it increase, and why? Is the universe evolving towards states of ever greater complexity and diversity? If so, what is the source of this universal enrichment? This book addresses those difficult questions, and offers a unique cross-disciplinary perspective on some of the most profound issues at the heart of science and philosophy. Readers will gain insights in complexity that reach deep into key areas of physics, biology, complexity science, philosophy and religion.
Complexity in Chemistry and Beyond: New and Old Aspects of Complexity in Modern Research (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series B: Physics and Biophysics)
by Craig Hill Djamaladdin G. MusaevComplexity occurs in biological and synthetic systems alike. This general phenomenon has been addressed in recent publications by investigators in disciplines ranging from chemistry and biology to psychology and philosophy. Studies of complexity for molecular scientists have focussed on breaking symmetry, dissipative processes, and emergence. Investigators in the social and medical sciences have focused on neurophenomenology, cognitive approaches and self-consciousness. Complexity in both structure and function is inherent in many scientific disciplines of current significance and also in technologies of current importance that are rapidly evolving to address global societal needs. Several of these multifaceted scientific disciplines are addressed in this book including complexity from the general and philosophical perspective, magnetic phenomena, control of self assembly and function in large multicomponent clusters, application of theory to probe structure and mechanism in highly complex molecular species, and the design of multifunctional nanoscale molecules of value in decontamination and solar fuels research. Each chapter is both a review and addresses some ongoing challenges, thus each should provide a good preparation for further work in these highly active areas of research endeavour.
Complexity in Economics: Cutting Edge Research (New Economic Windows)
by Marisa Faggini Anna ParzialeIn this book, leading experts discuss innovative components of complexity theory and chaos theory in economics. The underlying perspective is that investigations of economic phenomena should view these phenomena not as deterministic, predictable and mechanistic but rather as process dependent, organic and always evolving. The aim is to highlight the exciting potential of this approach in economics and its ability to overcome the limitations of past research and offer important new insights. The book offers a stimulating mix of theory, examples and policy. By casting light on a variety of topics in the field, it will provide an ideal platform for researchers wishing to deepen their understanding and identify areas for further investigation.
Complexity in Financial Markets: Modeling Psychological Behavior in Agent-Based Models and Order Book Models (Springer Theses)
by Matthieu CristelliTools and methods from complex systems science can have a considerable impact on the way in which the quantitative assessment of economic and financial issues is approached, as discussed in this thesis. First it is shown that the self-organization of financial markets is a crucial factor in the understanding of their dynamics. In fact, using an agent-based approach, it is argued that financial markets' stylized facts appear only in the self-organized state. Secondly, the thesis points out the potential of so-called big data science for financial market modeling, investigating how web-driven data can yield a picture of market activities: it has been found that web query volumes anticipate trade volumes. As a third achievement, the metrics developed here for country competitiveness and product complexity is groundbreaking in comparison to mainstream theories of economic growth and technological development. A key element in assessing the intangible variables determining the success of countries in the present globalized economy is represented by the diversification of the productive basket of countries. The comparison between the level of complexity of a country's productive system and economic indicators such as the GDP per capita discloses its hidden growth potential.
Complexity in Landscape Ecology (Landscape Series #22)
by David G. Green Nicholas I. Klomp Glyn Rimmington Suzanne SadedinThis book examines key concepts and analytical approaches in complexity theory as it applies to landscape ecology, including complex networks, connectivity, criticality, feedback, and self-organisation. It then reviews the ways that these ideas have led to new insights into the nature of ecosystems and the role of processes in landscapes. The updated edition explores innovations in ecotechnology, including automated monitoring, big data, simulation and machine learning, and shows how they are revolutionizing ecology by making it possible to deal more effectively with complexity. Addressing the topic in a progression of ideas from small to large, and from simple to sophisticated, the book examines the implications of complexity for major environmental issues of our time, particularly the urgencies of climate change and loss of biodiversity. Understanding ecological complexity is crucial in today’s globalized and interconnected world. Successful management of the world’s ecosystems must combine models of ecosystem complexity with biodiversity, environmental, geographic, and socioeconomic data. The book examines the impact of humans on landscapes and ecosystems, as well as efforts to embed sustainability, commerce and industrial development in the larger context of ecosystem services and ecological economics. Well-established as researchers in the field, the authors provide a new perspective on current and future understanding of complexity in landscape ecology. The new edition offers a non-technical account of the topic, so it is both accessible and informative for general readers. For students of ecology, it provides a fresh approach to classical ideas.
Complexity in Tsunamis, Volcanoes, and their Hazards (Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science Series)
by Robert I. TillingThis volume of the Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Second Edition is an authoritative single source for understanding and applying the basic tenets of complexity and systems theory, as well as the tools and measures for analyzing complex systems, to the prediction, monitoring, and evaluation of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. Early warning, damage, and the immediate response of human populations to these extreme environmental events are also covered from the point of view of complexity and nonlinear systems. In authoritative, state-of-the art articles, world experts in each field apply such complexity tools and concepts as fractals, cellular automata, solitons game theory, network theory, and statistical physics to an understanding of these complex geophysical phenomena.
Complexity, Cognition and the City: Simulation, Cognition And Vr In The Study And Planning Of Cities (Understanding Complex Systems)
by Juval PortugaliComplexity, Cognition and the City aims at a deeper understanding of urbanism, while invoking, on an equal footing, the contributions both the hard and soft sciences have made, and are still making, when grappling with the many issues and facets of regional planning and dynamics. In this work, the author goes beyond merely seeing the city as a self-organized, emerging pattern of some collective interaction between many stylized urban "agents" - he makes the crucial step of attributing cognition to his agents and thus raises, for the first time, the question on how to deal with a complex system composed of many interacting complex agents in clearly defined settings. Accordingly, the author eventually addresses issues of practical relevance for urban planners and decision makers. The book unfolds its message in a largely nontechnical manner, so as to provide a broad interdisciplinary readership with insights, ideas, and other stimuli to encourage further research - with the twofold aim of further pushing back the boundaries of complexity science and emphasizing the all-important interrelation of hard and soft sciences in recognizing the cognitive sciences as another necessary ingredient for meaningful urban studies.
Complexity, Entropy And The Physics Of Information (Santa Fe Institute Ser)
by Wojciech H. ZurekA must have for those with a deep commitment to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy, and information theory.
Complexity: A Guided Tour
by Melanie MitchellWhat enables individually simple insects like ants to act with such precision and purpose as a group? How do trillions of neurons produce something as extraordinarily complex as consciousness? In this remarkably clear and companionable book, leading complex systems scientist Melanie Mitchell provides an intimate tour of the sciences of complexity, a broad set of efforts that seek to explain how large-scale complex, organized, and adaptive behavior can emerge from simple interactions among myriad individuals. Based on her work at the Santa Fe Institute and drawing on its interdisciplinary strategies, Mitchell brings clarity to the workings of complexity across a broad range of biological, technological, and social phenomena, seeking out the general principles or laws that apply to all of them. <p><p>Richly illustrated, Complexity: A Guided Tour--winner of the 2010 Phi Beta Kappa Book Award in Science--offers a wide-ranging overview of the ideas underlying complex systems science, the current research at the forefront of this field, and the prospects for its contribution to solving some of the most important scientific questions of our time.
Complexity: Introduction and Fundamentals
by Danail Bonchev Dennis H. RouvrayThis volume covers the rapidly developing field of complexity studies with the underlying theme that complexity is to be found everywhere. The volume discusses many chemical applications and offers a comprehensive coverage of complexity and the ways in which it may be measured, complexity indices, complexity measures based on Shannon's information
Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
by M. Mitchell WaldropWhy did the stock market crash more than 500 points on a single Monday in 1987? Why do ancient species often remain stable in the fossil record for millions of years and then suddenly disappear? In a world where nice guys often finish last, why do humans value trust and cooperation? At first glance these questions don't appear to have anything in common, but in fact every one of these statements refers to a complex system. The science of complexity studies how single elements, such as a species or a stock, spontaneously organize into complicated structures like ecosystems and economies; stars become galaxies, and snowflakes avalanches almost as if these systems were obeying a hidden yearning for order.
Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
by M. Mitchell Waldrop&“If you liked Chaos, you&’ll love Complexity. Waldrop creates the most exciting intellectual adventure story of the year&” (The Washington Post). In a rarified world of scientific research, a revolution has been brewing. Its activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians, and computer scientists from all over the world. They have formed an iconoclastic think-tank and their radical idea is to create a new science: complexity. They want to know how a primordial soup of simple molecules managed to turn itself into the first living cell—and what the origin of life some four billion years ago can tell us about the process of technological innovation today. This book is their story—the story of how they have tried to forge what they like to call the science of the twenty-first century. &“Lucidly shows physicists, biologists, computer scientists and economists swapping metaphors and reveling in the sense that epochal discoveries are just around the corner . . . [Waldrop] has a special talent for relaying the exhilaration of moments of intellectual insight.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“Where I enjoyed the book was when it dove into the actual question of complexity, talking about complex systems in economics, biology, genetics, computer modeling, and so on. Snippets of rare beauty here and there almost took your breath away.&” —Medium &“[Waldrop] provides a good grounding of what may indeed be the first flowering of a new science.&” —Publishers Weekly
Compliance Handbook for Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, and Biologics (Drugs And The Pharmaceutical Sciences Ser. #Vol. 136)
by Carmen MedinaThis text lists the necessary steps for meeting compliance requirements during the drug development process. It presents comprehensive approaches for validating analytical methods for pharmaceutical applications.
Compliance or Defiance?: Assessing the Implementation of Policy Prescriptions for Commercialization by Water Operators (IHE Delft PhD Thesis Series)
by Mireia TutusausWhereas the global water community may have reached consensus on the need for water providers to operate on the basis of commercial principles, staff of water utilities are faced with the challenge of implementing these principles in their everyday work. In the everyday domain, these principles appear to directly conflict with the mandate of water operators to provide water services to all. Moreover, the socio-political, economic and bio-physical context in which these water operate may be ill-suited to implement commercialization. In pursuing commercialization these operators adapt, reinterpret, modify, deflect, alter or betray the original principles of commercialization during implementation. This research takes inspiration from the rich literature on policy implementation and policy translation, which argues that policy models need to be transformed and modified if they are to be successfully adopted or implemented. This research analyzes the alterations visible in the daily implementation of commercial models of water provisioning and, in doing so, present a better understanding of how water operators implement policy prescriptions of commercialization in practice. Based on the analysis of the adaptations and (re)interpretations of the implemented model of commercialization in the different cases, this thesis argues that a new way of speaking about commercialization should be developed.
Complications and Outcomes of Assisted Reproduction
by Botros Rizk Jan GerrisApproximately five million children have been born worldwide as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART). These techniques are now practised independently in most of the world's nations. Although the vast majority of ART parents and children are healthy following the procedures involved, there is an imperative to maintain a high standard of practice and monitor outcomes carefully. Interpretation of outcome data is difficult for a variety of reasons. As ART technologies evolve and new variants are established, the need for robust assessment of outcomes increases. This book gives a thorough review of potential complications of ART, with detailed analysis of outcome data for the various conditions described. A worldwide perspective is given throughout, with an international team of chapter authors.
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
by Atul GawandeA surgeon writes about some of his most interesting patients.
Component Surfaces: Manufacturing-Morphology-Property Relationships (Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing)
by Jan C. Aurich Hans HasseThis book sheds new light on component surfaces and the scientific fundamentals of their creation, characterization, and application. The book also provides a new interdisciplinary perspective on the topic, studying component surfaces with a multiscale approach and linking fundamental and applied research. The book builds on the success of the coordinated research project funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) from 2011 – 2023: the CollaborativeResearch Center CRC 926 “Microscale Morphology of Component Surfaces (MI-COS)”, in which, over the years, 100+ researchers have co-operated at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, and affiliated institutes, yielding 500+ scientific papers in journals from different fields of science and engineering. Divided into 2 main parts, the book starts with an introduction to the concept of Manufacturing-Morphology-Property (MMP) Relationships and dives into the fundamentals and technologies, including topics such as the geometrical, microstructural, and chemical characterization, indentation, and scratching on the nanoscale, micro milling and micro grinding, cryogenic machining, cold spraying, and additive manufacturing. In the first part, readers discover more about the interactions between particles and surfaces, the interrelationship of manufacturing, surface morphology and properties of titanium, the influence of manufacturing and load conditions on the phase transformation and fatigue of austenitic stainless steels, and the influence of surface morphology on fatigue and tribological behavior of Transformation-Induced-Plasticity (TRIP)/Twinning-Induced Plasticity (TWIP) Steels. The second part of this book is devoted to the applications of component surfaces, covering topics like the manufacturing of areal material measures, MMP relationships for rotating shaft sealing systems, the influence of the surface morphology on rolling bearing life under mixed lubrication, MMP relationships for chain joints, and MMP for biofilms. Scientists and engineers who deal with the influence of surfaces on macroscopic properties of components and who are interested in designing and manufacturing these surfaces to obtain desired component properties will understand the appeal of this work. Given its interdisciplinary breadth, the book also appeals to scholars and professionals in the fields of mechanical engineering, process engineering, and physics.