This volume contains a snapshot of some features of the Internet that may be fruitfully approached using a complex systems perspective, meaning using interdisciplinary tools and methods to tackle the subject area.
This book is the culmination of three years of research effort on a multidisciplinary project in which physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and social scientists worked together to arrive at a unifying picture of complex networks. The contributed chapters form a reference for the various problems in data analysis visualization and modeling of complex networks.
With the growing maturity of information and communication technologies, systems have been interconnected within growing networks, yielding new services through a combination of the system functionalities. This leads to an increasing complexity that has to be managed in order to take advantage of these system integrations. This book provides key answers as to how such systems of systems can be engineered and how their complexity can be mastered. After reviewing some definitions on systems of systems engineering, the book focuses on concrete applications and offers a survey of the activities and techniques that allow engineering of complex systems and systems of systems. Case studies, ranging from emergency situations such as Hurricane Katrina and its crisis management or a generic scenario of a major traffic accident and its emergency response, to the establishment of a scientific basis in the Antarctic region illustrate key factors of success and traps to avoid in order to cope with such situations.
Complex systems modeling and simulation approaches are being adopted in a growing number of sectors, including finance, economics, biology, astronomy, and many more. Technologies ranging from distributed computing to specialized hardware are explored and developed to address the computational requirements arising in complex systems simulations. The aim of this book is to present a representative overview of contemporary large-scale computing technologies in the context of complex systems simulations applications. The intention is to identify new research directions in this field and to provide a communications platform facilitating an exchange of concepts, ideas and needs between the scientists and technologist and complex system modelers. On the application side, the book focuses on modeling and simulation of natural and man-made complex systems. On the computing technology side, emphasis is placed on the distributed computing approaches, but supercomputing and other novel technologies are also considered.
The book on complex systems, sustainability, and innovation explores a broad set of ideas and presents some of the state-of-the-art research in this field concisely in six chapters. In a complex system, it is difficult to know exactly how the individual components contribute to an observed behavior and the extent of each component's contributions. It is the interactions of the individual components that determine the emergent functionalities. This makes it difficult to understand and predict the behavior of complex systems and hence the effects of any innovations in this field. This necessitates for the emergence of a new age of innovations with the main focus on user orientation and sustainability. This book explores some of the complex systems and their dependence on the environment to provide a long-term perspective, aiding innovations and supporting a sustainable society. The intended audience of this book will mainly consist of researchers, research students, and practitioners in the field of complex systems and sustainability.
Complex systems modeling and simulation approaches are being adopted in a growing number of sectors, including finance, economics, biology, astronomy, and many more. Technologies ranging from distributed computing to specialized hardware are explored and developed to address the computational requirements arising in complex systems simulations. The aim of this book is to present a representative overview of contemporary large-scale computing technologies in the context of complex systems simulations applications. The intention is to identify new research directions in this field and to provide a communications platform facilitating an exchange of concepts, ideas and needs between the scientists and technologist and complex system modelers. On the application side, the book focuses on modeling and simulation of natural and man-made complex systems. On the computing technology side, emphasis is placed on the distributed computing approaches, but supercomputing and other novel technologies are also considered.
This book is the culmination of three years of research effort on a multidisciplinary project in which physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and social scientists worked together to arrive at a unifying picture of complex networks. The contributed chapters from a reference for the various problems in data analysis visualization and modeling of complex networks.
This book presents an internationally comprehensive perspective into the field of complex systems. It explores the challenges of and approaches to complexity from a broad range of disciplines, including big data, health care, medicine, mathematics, mechanical and systems engineering, air traffic control and finance. The book’s interdisciplinary character allows readers to identify transferable and mutually exclusive lessons learned among these disciplines and beyond. As such, it is well suited to the transfer of applications and methodologies between ostensibly incompatible disciplines. This book provides fresh perspectives on comparable issues of complexity from the top minds on systems thinking.
The flood of information technology (I.T.) products and services entering the market place often obscures the need to nurture the research enterprise. But as I.T. becomes integrated into all aspects of society, the need for research is even greater. And the range of issues that need to be addressed is broader than ever. This new book highlights the fundamental importance of research to ensure that I.T. meets society's expanding needs. Against the background of dramatic change in the I.T. landscape, the committee examines four key questions: Is the scope of I.T. research broad enough-particularly in the arena of large-scale systems-to address government, business, and social applications? Are government and industrial sponsors providing sufficient funding for I.T. research? Is the research net big both big and diverse enough to capture sufficient financial and intellectual resources to advance the field? Are structures and mechanisms for funding and conducting research suited to the new sets of research challenges?
A clear, concise introduction to the quickly growing field of complexity science that explains its conceptual and mathematical foundations What is a complex system? Although "complexity science" is used to understand phenomena as diverse as the behavior of honeybees, the economic markets, the human brain, and the climate, there is no agreement about its foundations. In this introduction for students, academics, and general readers, philosopher of science James Ladyman and physicist Karoline Wiesner develop an account of complexity that brings the different concepts and mathematical measures applied to complex systems into a single framework. They introduce the different features of complex systems, discuss different conceptions of complexity, and develop their own account. They explain why complexity science is so important in today's world.