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The main purpose of this study is to probe into the human capacity of understanding systems and defects in human knowledge of the world. The study addresses the greyness levels and systems levels and explains why the world cannot be perceived as a purely white or black structure. It also clarifies why human knowledge of systems always remains grey. The investigation relies on logical and deductive reasoning and uses the theoretical foundations of systems thinking and Boulding's systems hierarchy. The most important argument that this study advances is that human knowledge, in any form or under any circumstances, is grey and incomplete and will remain grey. Because the notion of 'perfect knowledge' is ambiguous given human epistemic limits, any proportion of knowledge is incomplete and prone to change. Less complexity could lead to more accurate predications, but even in the simplest forms of systems, reaching perfect knowledge seems to be an unwarranted claim. Furthermore, because our perception of past events is incomplete, we cannot predict the future with certainty, as a result of which both the past and the future appear grey to us. The world, as an integrated system, is neither black nor white, but it remains grey, and the systems partially recognized by humans are part of the grey world. Gaining knowledge and increasing discoveries only contribute to the grey systems that are already known., Author(s): Ehsan Javanmardi [sup.1] , Sifeng Liu [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.64938.30, 0000 0000 9558 9911, Institute for Grey Systems Studies, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, , 211106, Nanjing, [...]

This last decade has seen the publication of an extensive literature describing, cataloguing and analyzing the 'emergence' of complexity. This seems very strange. The creation of a complex assembly is comparatively easy--the difficult job is to generate simplicity from it. So much is this the case, that the only context within which it takes place is that of life itself. Although we naturally imagine life as a dynamic process rather than as a static structure, both of these are critical to its survival. Continuously expanding multi-element assemblies finally lose their cohesion, and split up into separate parts, or restructure themselves to redress their stability by generating a simplified umbrella level of operation. In large organisms this process may repeat itself, thus creating a multilevel self-correlating operational hierarchy. It is not obvious how the associated generation of simplicity is initiated, but it appears that such a self-correlating hierarchy is itself alive. Keywords life; hierarchy; multi-scalar; complexity; simplicity, INTRODUCTION One of the preoccupations of Homo sapiens is, and has been, to explain in some way the genesis of life, both in an abstract sense and in the appearance [...]

Robert Rosen claimed that life, as a property of a living system (an organism), is not caused by the physical nature of what it is composed of but, rather, is a consequence of complex organization of a certain type in a material system. In other words, the causal basis of life is a matter of relational causality rather than physical, material causality. Living systems are characterized by a unique set of behaviors and capabilities. Among these is the ability to employ information encoded into the organization itself as a means of maintaining system stability in an ever changing environment. This encoded information can allow organisms to act in a way that Rosen described as characteristically model-based behavior. He theorized that the encoded information can act as a set of internal predictive models which pertain to both the internal environment of the system and the external environment, as well as to the relational interactions between the two, and which actually guide system behavior. Collectively, such guidance amounts to an anticipatory mode of system control. Rosen concluded that encoded information is an integral aspect of any living system's organization and, based on the relation of this information to organismic behavior, he categorized all living organisms as anticipatory systems. In this paper, we review Robert Rosen's seminal ideas about complexity, causality, and life in biological systems. Because anticipatory behavior, by definition, involves multiple encodings of time, we concentrate our focus on exploring the nature of anticipatory systems and examine the new information these ideas reveal about time and evolution. We discuss the consequences of these ideas on science as a whole and argue that a change in scientific perspective and approach is a necessity for understanding biological systems. This, of course, includes the nature and physiology of human beings, as well. Keywords complexity; relational causality; entailment; epistemology; modeling relation; ontology, INTRODUCTION Is it possible, as the late Dr Robert Rosen (1934-1998) claimed, that scientific theories derived from the study of systems in biology can tell us something about systems which, [...]

Boulding's Skeleton of Science (a systems framework) is used to demonstrate first that several levels of disciplines are necessary for holistic research, and secondly that this can be applied to addressing issues concerning emerging infectious disease (EID). A literature review gathered a list of possible contributing risk factors for EID. Those factors were matched to the levels of disciplines in Boulding's Skeleton of Science to show that different risk factors must be studied by a combination of disciplines to adequately address the occurrence of infectious disease. An analysis of one international health policy document is also included to determine the range of disciplines represented in that document. Using a multidisciplinary (systemic) approach demonstrated advantages that complement and overcome the limitations of modern epidemiology. Recommendations for the inclusion of a multidisciplinary epidemiological approach are made, followed by some reflections on the conclusions drawn from this research, and suggestions for future work. Keywords Kenneth Boulding; Skeleton of Science; systems frameworks; hierarchy; epidemiology, INTRODUCTION This paper focuses on a systems approach to the public health concern of emerging infectious disease (EID). Emerging, or re-emerging, infectious diseases, e.g. MRSA, hantaviruses, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, HIV [...]

The study of pathology is informed by living systems theory (LST). The power of LST to inform that study rests not in the volume of its coverage but, rather, in the conceptual location of the definition of pathology vis-a-vis the definitions of fundamental ideas. The connectivity of the concepts of pathology, steady state, adjustment processes, critical subsystems, and levels of living systems position pathology among the most basic (and most widely applicable) concepts of LST. Pathology is discussed in the context of those concepts and the connectivity among them. Keywords pathology; living systems theory; steady state; critical subsystems; cross-level hypotheses, INTRODUCTION The study of pathology is informed by living systems theory (LST) (Miller, 1978; Miller and Miller, 1991). The term pathology usually refers to systems at the cell, organ, and [...]

Complex biological, technological, and sociological networks can be of very different sizes and connectivities, making it difficult to compare their structures. Here we present an approach to systematically study similarity in the local structure of networks, based on the significance profile (SP) of small subgraphs in the network compared to randomized networks. We find several superfamilies of previously unrelated networks with very similar SPs. One superfamily, including transcription networks of microorganisms, represents 'rate-limited' information-processing networks strongly constrained by the response time of their components. A distinct superfamily includes protein signaling, developmental genetic networks, and neuronal wiring. Additional superfamilies include power grids, protein-structure networks and geometric networks, World Wide Web links and social networks, and word-adjacency networks from different languages., Many networks in nature share global properties (1, 2). Their degree sequences (the number of edges per node) often follow a long-tailed distribution, in which some nodes are much more [...]

We examine a network of strings and springs that exhibit counter-intuitive behavior. When a support string is cut, the load rises instead of falling. Our experimental and theoretical results lead to some general qualitative conditions for the existence of this paradoxical behavior, including effects of nonideal and nonlinear components. A simple procedure is given for doing a classroom demonstration of this behavior. This behavior is analogous to the well-known Braess paradox in traffic networks and also has (not well known) analogs in electrical, hydraulic, and thermal networks. Some new insights into the traffic paradox are gained from a study of the mechanical paradox. [DOI: 10.1119/1.1538553]

Soft systems methodology (SSM) is presented as a possible systems tool for analyzing problems and issues of organization. SSM was developed for situations where there are many open-ended issues or where problems are hard to define in mathematical or logical terms. The systems approach is English language-based and does not specify standards. Instead, it simply establishes a structure by which issues can be resolved.

Complex models may have model components distributed over a network and generally require significant execution times. The field of parallel and distributed simulation has grown over the past fifteen years to accommodate the need of simulation the complex models using a distributed versus sequential method. In particular, asynchronous parallel discrete event simulation (PDES) has been widely studied, and yet we envision greater acceptance of this methodology as more readers are exposed to PDES introductions that carefully integrate real-world applications. With this in mind, we present two key methodologies (conservative and optimistic) which have been adopted as solutions to PDES systems. We discuss PDES terminology and methodology under the umbrella of the personal communications services application.

Models generated by a gradient descent learning algorithm were compared to evaluate the suitability of KSIM models derived from group participation strategies. KSIM models are commonly used by policymakers to predict system behavior in a qualitative manner based on known or assumed causal relationships between system quantities. The results showed that there are certain limits to the dynamic performance of KSIM models. Thus, they are thus not suited for many real systems.

In this paper, the problem of approximating a linear time-invariant stable system by a finite weighted sum of given exponentials is considered. System identification schemes using Laguerre models are extended and generalized to Kautz models, which correspond to representations using several different possible complex exponentials. In particular, linear regression methods to estimate this sort of model from measured data are analyzed. The advantages of the proposed approach are the simplicity of the resulting identification scheme and the capability of modeling resonant systems using few parameters. The subsequent analysis is based on the result that the corresponding linear regression normal equations have a block Toeplitz structure. Several results on transfer function estimation are extended to discrete Kautz models, for example, asymptotic frequency domain variance expressions.

One way to apply living systems theory (LST) to traditional disciplines and specific empirical studies is by testing hypothesis derived from LST. This article discusses the process of deriving testable specific hypotheses from the LST conceptual framework and illustrates that process with the development of actual testable hypotheses that concern accounting information systems of organizations.

The importance of internal, cognitive or covert support mechanisms to ensure successful application of managerial skills is highlighted. This durability factor has often been left out of the managerial success equation. But consistent application of managerial qualities demands a supportive network to ensure durability. Thus, the introduction of cognitive behavior modification-based management consultations is seen to alter maladaptive thoughts, behaviors and affect which hinder job performance. A skillbuilding managerial framework is laid out for the effective implementation of such cognitive behavioral techniques, even in hard business environments.

Approximations for open queueing networks with overtime operations occurring at some stations were developed. Bounds were provided for approximation performance for single and multi-machine stations. The approximations could be used along with parametric decomposition techniques to evaluate networks of queues. The quality of the approximations was tested by performing six experiments involving comparisons of the estimates of the mean number of jobs at each station. The tests also assessed the robustness of the parametric decomposition technique in estimating the mean number of jobs in networks with overtime operations. The results indicated that the approximation technique was robust and performed satisfactorily.

The concept of applied science fiction (ASF) is defined as the ways in which a scientific system responds to pressure from an external application without surrendering its self-referential logic. Several forms of ASF are examined and discussed within the framework of management studies.

Environmental problems, and human attempts to manage them, can be conceptualised as evolutionary complex systems, involving interlinked processes of physical, knowledge, technological, institutional, perceptual and behavioural change. A distinction may be made between changes in physical systems ('physical emergence'), changes in human knowledge about those systems ('knowledge emergence') and changes in human perceptions ('perceptual emergence'). While processes of physical and knowledge emergence are important, it is through perceptual emergence that a phenomenon comes to be regarded as a 'problem' or 'issue', potentially leading to changes in policy, institutional arrangements or behaviour. The paper proposes a soft complex systems model for the relationships between these processes, illustrated with examples from the history of air quality management in the UK. The model also has wider application in the understanding of other complex issues of environmental management. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)