Showing papers on "Complex adaptive system published in 2014"

Complexity: A Very Short Introduction

Abstract: 1. Complex systems 2. Complex physical systems 3. Complex adaptive systems 4. Agents, networks, degree, and recirculation 5. Specialization and diversity 6. Emergence 7. Co-evolution and the formation of niches 8. Putting it all together Further reading Index

Network structure and institutional complexity in an ecology of water management games

Abstract: Social-ecological systems are governed by a complex of ecology of games featuring multiple actors, policy institutions, and issues, and not just single institutions operating in isolation. We update Long's (1958) ecology of games to analyze the coordinating roles of actors and institutions in the context of the ecology of water management games in San Francisco Bay, California. The ecology of games is operationalized as a bipartite network with actors participating in institutions, and exponential random graph models are used to test hypotheses about the structural features of the network. We found that policy coordination is facilitated mostly by federal and state agencies and collaborative institutions that span geographic boundaries. Network configurations associated with closure show the most significant departures from the predicted model values, consistent with the Berardo and Scholz (2010) "risk hypothesis" that closure is important for solving cooperation problems.

Organizational Learning, Innovation and Internationalization: A Complex System Model

Abstract: Research on organizational learning, innovation and internationalization has traditionally linked these concepts through linear causality, by considering any one of them as the cause of another, an approach that might be considered contradictory and static. This paper aims to clarify these relationships and proposes a dynamic theoretical model that has mutual causality at its core and is based on ideas originating in complexity theory. The final model results from case studies of two clothing sector firms. The authors consider that the three concepts constitute a complex system and can adapt and transcend, as any alteration can take the system to the edge of chaos. Adaptability is fostered by concentration, improvement and discussion. Transcendence is fostered by attention, dialogue and inquiry. The different paces of the two case study companies led their systems to two different models: the incremental complex adaptive system model and the global complex generative system model. The incremental model is characterized by adaptive learning, incremental innovation and low internationalization; and the global system is characterized by generative learning, radical innovation and global internationalization. The paper ends with an exploration of the academic and management implications of the model.

Viewing forests through the lens of complex systems science

Abstract: Complex systems science provides a transdisciplinary framework to study systems characterized by (1) heterogeneity, (2) hierarchy, (3) self-organization, (4) openness, (5) adaptation, (6) memory, (7) non-linearity, and (8) uncertainty. Complex systems thinking has inspired both theory and applied strategies for improving ecosystem resilience and adaptability, but applications in forest ecology and management are just beginning to emerge. We review the properties of complex systems using four well-studied forest biomes (temperate, boreal, tropical and Mediterranean) as examples. The lens of complex systems science yields insights into facets of forest structure and dynamics that facilitate comparisons among ecosystems. These biomes share the main properties of complex systems but differ in specific ecological properties, disturbance regimes, and human uses. We show how this approach can help forest scientists and managers to conceptualize forests as integrated social-ecological systems and provide concrete examples of how to manage forests as complex adaptive systems.

Fostering emergent resilience: the complex adaptive supply network of disaster relief

Abstract: The frequency and intensity of disasters continue to increase. Following large-scale and catastrophic disasters, local organisations integrate with other responding organisations to form hastily disaster relief supply chain networks. Such supply networks are infrequently activated in a single location, generate unparalleled uncertainty, change quickly, and are driven by the urgency of saving lives and restoring livelihoods. Unfortunately, even where sound supply chain management practices are used, supply networks have encountered diverse levels of resilience and adequate disaster relief performance has remained elusive. In this paper, several unique characteristics that disaster relief efforts exhibit are examined as compared with demand-driven, steady-state supply chains. Important differences in the flows of resource, money, and information are identified. A complex adaptive supply network (CASN) lens is used to frame what existing literature has uncovered regarding disaster relief efforts, showing how...

Managing forests as complex adaptive systems: building resilience to the challenge of global change

Abstract: This book is a valuable contribution to the science of forest management. It represents a way of thinking that can be linked with all aspects and steps of management. The first part is composed of ...

Managing Complexity

Abstract: This is the first book to describe large-scale complex adaptive systems and their application to practical business problems to yield excellent returns on investment. Various case studies are included ranging from real-time scheduling of 2,000 taxis in London and 10% of world capacity of seagoing tankers transporting crude oil around the globe, to adaptive cargo delivery to the International Space Station, semantic processing of scientific abstracts, dynamic patterns discovery from large quantity of data, real-time management of global supply chains and adaptive management of design modifications of large aircraft wings. The applications are backed up with a concise outline of the fundamental concepts, principles and methods of Complexity Science. An insight is provided into the connection between digital technology and the ever-increasing complexity of contemporary social and economic environments and a powerful method of managing complexity is described in some detail. The book contains an extensive description of the fundamentals of multi-agent technology, which has been developed by the authors and used in the design of complex adaptive software and complex adaptive business processes.

A Systems-Based Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Determinants of a Social License to Operate in the Mining Industry

Abstract: The concept of a “social license to operate” (SLO) was coined in the 1990s and gained popularity as one way in which “social” considerations can be addressed in mineral development decision making. The need for a SLO implies that developers require the widespread approval of local community members for their projects to avoid exposure to potentially costly conflict and business risks. Only a limited amount of scholarship exists on the topic, and there is a need for research that specifically addresses the complex and changeable nature of SLO outcomes. In response to these challenges, this paper advances a novel, systems-based conceptual framework for assessing SLO determinants and outcomes in the mining industry. Two strands of systems theory are specifically highlighted—complex adaptive systems and resilience—and the roles of context, key system variables, emergence, change, uncertainty, feedbacks, cross-scale effects, multiple stable states, thresholds, and resilience are discussed. The framework was developed from the results of a multi-year research project which involved international mining case study investigations, a comprehensive literature review, and interviews conducted with mining stakeholders and observers. The framework can help guide SLO analysis and management efforts, by encouraging users to account for important contextual and complexity-oriented elements present in SLO settings. We apply the framework to a case study in Alaska, USA before discussing its merits and challenges. We also illustrate knowledge gaps associated with applications of complex adaptive systems and resilience theories to the study of SLO dynamics, and discuss opportunities for future research.

Systems and Complexity Thinking in the General Practice Literature: An Integrative, Historical Narrative Review

Abstract: PURPOSE Over the past 7 decades, theories in the systems and complexity sciences have had a major influence on academic thinking and research We assessed the impact of complexity science on general practice/family medicine METHODS We performed a historical integrative review using the following systematic search strategy: medical subject heading (humans) combined in turn with the terms complex adaptive systems, nonlinear dynamics, systems biology, and systems theory, limited to general practice/family medicine and published before December 2010 A total of 16,242 articles were retrieved, of which 49 were pub- lished in general practice/family medicine journals Hand searches and snowball- ing retrieved another 35 After a full-text review, we included 56 articles dealing specifically with systems sciences and general/family practice RESULTS General practice/family medicine engaged with the emerging systems and complexity theories in 4 stages Before 1995, articles tended to explore common phenomenologic general practice/family medicine experiences Between 1995 and 2000, articles described the complex adaptive nature of this discipline Those published between 2000 and 2005 focused on describing the system dynamics of medical practice After 2005, articles increasingly applied the breadth of complex science theories to health care, health care reform, and the future of medicine CONCLUSIONS This historical review describes the development of general prac- tice/family medicine in relation to complex adaptive systems theories, and shows how systems sciences more accurately reflect the discipline's philosophy and identity Analysis suggests that general practice/family medicine first embraced systems theories through conscious reorganization of its boundaries and scope, before applying empirical tools Future research should concentrate on applying nonlinear dynamics and empirical modeling to patient care, and to organizing and developing local practices, engaging in community development, and influ - encing health care reform

Complex Adaptive Systems Framework to Assess Supply-Side and Demand-Side Management for Urban Water Resources

Abstract: The availability of water resources in many urbanizing areas is the emergent property of the adaptive interactions among consumers, policy, and the hydrologic cycle. As water availability becomes more stressed, public officials often implement restrictions on water use, such as bans on outdoor watering. Consumers are influenced by policy and the choices of other consumers to select water-conservation technologies and practices, which aggregate as the demand on available water resources. Policy and behavior choices affect the availability of water for future use as reservoirs are depleted or filled. This research posited urban water supply as a complex adaptive system (CAS) by coupling a stochastic consumer demand model and a water supply model within an agent-based modeling (ABM) framework. Public officials were simulated as agents to choose water conservation strategies and interbasin transfer strategies, and consumers were simulated as agents, influenced by various conservation-based programs to...

Toward an integrated theory of spatial morphology and resilient urban systems

Abstract: We take the first step in the development of a new field of research with the aim of merging spatial morphology and resilience science. This involves a revisiting and reunderstanding of the meaning of sustainable urban form. We briefly describe the fields of resilience science and spatial morphology. Drawing on a selected set of propositions in both fields, we put urban form in the context of the adaptive renewal cycle, a dynamic framework model used in resilience science to capture the dynamics of complex adaptive systems, of which urban systems are prime examples. We discuss the insights generated in this endeavor, dealing with some key morphological aspects in relation to four key attributes of resilience, i.e., “change,” “diversity,” “self-organization,” and “learning.” We discuss and relate these to urban form and other social variables, with special attention paid to the “backloop phase” of the adaptive renewal cycle. We conclude by postulating ways in which resilience thinking could contribute to the development of a new research frontier for addressing designs for resilient urban social-ecological systems, and end by proposing three strategic areas of research in such a field.

Complex, but not quite complex enough : The turn to the complexity sciences in evaluation scholarship

Abstract: This article offers a critical review of the way in which some scholars have taken up the complexity sciences in evaluation scholarship. I argue that there is a tendency either to over-claim or under-claim their importance because scholars are not always careful about which of the manifestations of the complexity sciences they are appealing to, nor do they demonstrate how they understand them in social terms. The effect is to render ‘complexity’ just another volitional tool in the evaluator’s toolbox subsumed under the dominant understanding of evaluation, as a logical, rational activity based on systems thinking and design. As an alternative I argue for a radical interpretation of the complexity sciences, which understands human interaction as always complex and emergent. The interweaving of intentions in human activity will always bring about outcomes that no one has intended including in the activity of evaluation itself.

Principles of Systems Science

Abstract: This pioneering text provides a comprehensive introduction to systems structure, function, and modeling as applied in all fields of science and engineering. Systems understanding is increasingly recognized as a key to a more holistic education and greater problem solving skills, and is also reflected in the trend toward interdisciplinary approaches to research on complex phenomena. While the concepts and components of systems science will continue to be distributed throughout the various disciplines, undergraduate degree programs in systems science are also being developed, including at the authors own institutions. However, the subject is approached, systems science as a basis for understanding the components and drivers of phenomena at all scales should be viewed with the same importance as a traditional liberal arts education. Principles of Systems Science contains many graphs, illustrations, side bars, examples, and problems to enhance understanding. From basic principles of organization, complexity, abstract representations, and behavior (dynamics) to deeper aspects such as the relations between information, knowledge, computation, and system control, to higher order aspects such as auto-organization, emergence and evolution, the book provides an integrated perspective on the comprehensive nature of systems. It ends with practical aspects such as systems analysis, computer modeling, and systems engineering that demonstrate how the knowledge of systems can be used to solve problems in the real world. Each chapter is broken into parts beginning with qualitative descriptions that stand alone for students who have taken intermediate algebra. The second part presents quantitative descriptions that are based on pre-calculus and advanced algebra, providing a more formal treatment for students who have the necessary mathematical background. Numerous examples of systems from every realm of life, including the physical and biological sciences, humanities, social sciences, engineering, pre-med and pre-law, are based on the fundamental systems concepts of boundaries, components as subsystems, processes as flows of materials, energy, and messages, work accomplished, functions performed, hierarchical structures, and more. Understanding these basics enables further understanding both of how systems endure and how they may become increasingly complex and exhibit new properties or characteristics. Serves as a textbook for teaching systems fundamentals in any discipline or for use in an introductory course in systems science degree programs Addresses a wide range of audiences with different levels of mathematical sophistication Includes open-ended questions in special boxes intended to stimulate integrated thinking and class discussion Describes numerous examples of systems in science and society Captures the trend towards interdisciplinary research and problem solving

International environmental law as a complex adaptive system

Abstract: Complex adaptive systems are a special kind of self-organizing system with emergent properties and adaptive capacity in response to changing external conditions. In this article, we investigate the proposition that international environmental law, as a network of treaties and institutions, exhibits some key characteristics of a complex adaptive system. This proposition is premised on the scientific understanding that the Earth system displays properties of a complex adaptive system. If so, international environmental law, as a control system, may benefit from the insights gained and from being modelled in ways more appropriately aligned with the functioning of the Earth system itself. In this exploratory review, we found evidence suggesting that international environmental law is a complex system where treaties and institutions self-organize and exhibit emergent properties. Furthermore, we contend that international environmental law as a whole is adapting to exogenous changes through an institutional process akin to natural selection in biological evolution. However, the adequacy of the direction and rate of adaptation for the purpose of safeguarding the integrity of Earth’s life-support system is questioned. This paper concludes with an emphasis on the need for system-level interventions to steer the direction of self-organization while maintaining institutional diversity. This recommendation stands in contrast to the reductionist approach to institutional fragmentation and aims at embracing the existing complexity in international environmental law.

An Integrated Approach to Analyzing (Adaptive) Comanagement Using the "Politicized" IAD Framework

Abstract: Scholars of comanagement are faced with a difficult methodological challenge. As comanagement has evolved and diversified it has increasingly merged with the field of adaptive management and related concepts that derive from resilience thinking and complex adaptive systems theory. In addition to earlier considerations of power sharing, institution building, and trust, the adaptive turn in comanagement has brought attention to the process of social learning and a focus on concepts such as scale, self-organization, and system trajectory. At the same time, a number of scholars are calling for a more integrated approach to studying (adaptive) comanagement that is able to situate these normative concepts within a critical understanding of how context and power fundamentally influences the behavior of a system. We propose that the "politicized" version of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework, originally developed by Elinor Ostrom and her colleagues, is well suited to addressing this challenge. The framework provides breadth, clarity, and structure by drawing the analyst's attention to the range of variables and questions to be considered when attempting a study of comanagement, the various components of the situation, and the ways in which they interact, and the criteria the analyst may wish to adopt in evaluating the outcomes of the process. Alongside its ability to address contextual factors and power dynamics, the socioeconomic and institutional dimension of the politicized IAD Framework means that it can be used to conduct analyses that result in sound policy recommendations.

Complexity, Social Complexity, and Modeling

Abstract: Social complexity has long been a subject of considerable interest and study among archaeologists; it is generally taken to refer to human societies consisting of large numbers of people, many social and economic roles, large permanent settlements, along with a variety of other marker criteria. When viewed from a more general complex systems perspective, however, all human societies are complex systems regardless of size or organizational structure. Complex adaptive systems (CAS) represent systems which are dynamic in space, time, organization, and membership and which are characterized by information transmission and processing that allow them to adjust to changing external and internal conditions. Complex systems approaches offer the potential for new insights into processes of social change, linkages between the actions of individual human agents and societal-level characteristics, interactions between societies and their environment, and allometric relationships between size and organizational complexity. While complex systems approaches have not yet coalesced into a comprehensive theoretical framework, they have identified important isomorphic properties of organization and behavior across diverse phenomena. However, it is difficult to operationalize complex systems concepts in archaeology using the descriptive/confirmatory statistics that dominate quantitative aspects of modern archaeological practice. These are not designed to deal with complex interactions and multilevel feedbacks that vary across space and time. Nor do narratives that simply state that societies are characterized by interacting agent/actors who share cultural knowledge, and whose interacting practices create emergent social-level phenomena add much to our understanding. New analytical tools are needed to make effective use of the conceptual tools of complex systems approaches to human social dynamics. Computational and systems dynamics modeling offer the first generation of such analytical protocols especially oriented towards the systematic study of CAS. A computational model of small-scale society with subsistence agriculture is used to illustrate the complexity of even “simple” societies and the potential for new modeling methods to assist archaeologists in their study.

Building Resilient Regions: Complex Adaptive Systems and the Role of Policy Intervention

Abstract: The notion of resilience is being utilised by an increasing number of authors keen to understand the dynamics of local and regional economies and particularly how they deal with economic shocks and recessionary crises. Within the burgeoning literature however, fairly limited attention has been paid to date to developing a robust conceptual understanding of what role policy-makers, particularly at sub-national level, might play in building economic resilience in regions. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap. Drawing on resilience literatures which employ a complex adaptive systems perspective, the paper seeks to develop a conceptual framework within which policy action, particularly at the subnational level, can be theorised and understood. It identifies three critical dimensions which frame the role and scope for policy intervention in the management of regional economic resilience: the modes and structures of governance, the types of policy interventions which help build resilience, and the horizons or timings for appropriate intervention. The paper concludes by considering what this framing means for the nature and scope of subnational policy intervention for regional economic resilience.

Harnessing the power of self-organization in an online community during organizational crisis

Abstract: Organizational crisis management has traditionally favored a centralized plan-and-control approach. This study explores the possibility for an orderly crisis management process to arise unintentionally from decentralized and spontaneous actions in an online community (i.e., self-organization). Based on complex adaptive systems theory, a multilevel model is developed to account for the logical relation between individual-level actions and interactions in an online community and an organizational-level orderly and rational crisis management process, as described by the organizational crisis management literature. We apply this multilevel model to an analysis of 89,596 posts from an online community that was deeply embedded in an earthquake-induced organizational crisis. Results indicate that fluctuation of message content themes in this online community served to energize continuous input from ordinary organization members. These input actualized new possibilities offered by the technology platform for crisis management actions (i.e., actualized IT affordances). Concatenation of immediate impacts of message content themes and actualized IT affordances formed feedback loops that moderated the crisis management activities toward an efficient trajectory. Our findings challenge the traditional assumption that macro-level order requires micro-level order-seeking behaviors. They suggest the viability of self-organization as a new source of organizational order that complements the traditional centralized plan-and-control approach. Theoretical and empirical implications for harnessing the power of ordinary organization members connected by today's technology platforms are discussed.

A complexity theory approach to IT-enabled services (IESs) and service innovation: Business analytics as an illustration of IES

Abstract: While firms view services as the main source of their revenue and competitive advantage, understanding of service and service innovation is limited. This lack of understanding is especially significant in IT-Enabled Services (IESs) and IES innovation. Much work is needed to understand the contemporary trend of integrating diverse material and social resources to address complex organizational and individual needs. This article proposes a novel framework for IES and IES innovation and develops propositions and implications for research and practice. This work draws upon the tenet of complexity theory and conceptualizes IES as complex adaptive systems (CAS), with such properties and behaviors as diverse adaptive elements, nonlinear interaction, self-organization, and adaptive learning, and IES innovation as a co-evolutionary process of variation, selection, and retention (VSR). The proposed framework is illustrated using business analytics (BA) as a new kind of decision support service (DSS) throughout this paper. Several propositions are developed. Finally, we present a discussion and implications.

A complex adaptive systems perspective of innovation diffusion: an integrated theory and validated virtual laboratory

Abstract: In this paper we integrate the rich yet fragmented insights from the extensive literature on the diffusion of innovation into an elegant, coherent model. Using complex adaptive systems theory as the overarching framework, we integrate prior literature around three constructs: agents, interactions, and an environment. The integrated model is presented in both natural language and as an agent-based simulation model. A series of validation experiments instill confidence that our agent-based model (and similar others) can be used as a virtual research laboratory. We provide theoretical and methodological directions for future research.

Integrating research tools to support the management of social-ecological systems under climate change

Abstract: Developing resource management strategies in the face of climate change is complicated by the considerable uncertainty associated with projections of climate and its impacts and by the complex interactions between social and ecological variables. The broad, interconnected nature of this challenge has resulted in calls for analytical frameworks that integrate research tools and can support natural resource management decision making in the face of uncertainty and complex interactions. We respond to this call by first reviewing three methods that have proven useful for climate change research, but whose application and development have been largely isolated: species distribution modeling, scenario planning, and simulation modeling. Species distribution models provide data- driven estimates of the future distributions of species of interest, but they face several limitations and their output alone is not sufficient to guide complex decisions for how best to manage resources given social and economic considerations along with dynamic and uncertain future conditions. Researchers and managers are increasingly exploring potential futures of social-ecological systems through scenario planning, but this process often lacks quantitative response modeling and validation procedures. Simulation models are well placed to provide added rigor to scenario planning because of their ability to reproduce complex system dynamics, but the scenarios and management options explored in simulations are often not developed by stakeholders, and there is not a clear consensus on how to include climate model outputs. We see these strengths and weaknesses as complementarities and offer an analytical framework for integrating these three tools. We then describe the ways in which this framework can help shift climate change research from useful to usable.

Surviving or Flourishing? Integrating business resilience and sustainability

Abstract: Purpose – Businesses are always seeking resilient strategies so they can weather unpredictable competitive environments. One source of unpredictability is the unsustainability of commerce's environmental, economic or social impacts and the limitations this places on businesses. Another is poor resilience causing erroneous and unexpected outputs. Companies prospering long-term must have both resilience and sustainability, existing in a symbiotic state. The purpose of this paper is to explore the two concepts and their relationship, their combined benefits and propose an approach for supporting decision makers to proactively build both characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at businesses as complex adaptive systems, how their resilience and sustainability can be defined and how these might be exhibited. It then explores how they can be combined in practice. Findings – The two qualities are related but have different purposes, moreover resilience has two major forms related to timescales. Both kinds of resilience are identified as key for delivering sustainability, yet the reverse is also found to be true. Both are needed to deliver either and to let businesses flourish. Practical implications – Although the ideal state of resilient sustainability is difficult to define or achieve, pragmatic ways exist to deliver the right direction of change in organisational decisions. A novel approach to this is explored based on transition engineering and robustness engineering. Originality/value – This paper links resilience and sustainability explicitly and develops a holistic pragmatic approach for working through their implications in strategic decision making.

Network Theory in the Public Sector : Building New Theoretical Frameworks

Abstract: Part 1. Introduction to the Issues/Current Network Theories 1. Introduction: Understanding Theory Myrna P. Mandell 2. Network Theory Tracks and Trajectories: Where From, Where To? Robyn Keast Part 2. New Theoretical Frameworks: Informing Design, Governance Arrangements and Management 3. A Composite Theory of Leadership and Management: Process Catalyst and Strategic Leveraging-Theory of Deliberate Action in Collaborative Networks Robyn Keast and Myrna P. Mandell 4. Building and Using the Theory of Collaborative Advantage Siv Vangen and Chris Huxham 5. The Democratic Potentials of Governance Networks in Inter- Governmental Decision Making Eva Sorensen 6. Governance Network Performance: A Complex Adaptive Systems Approach Christopher Koliba 7. Governing Through Networks: A Systemic Approach Deborah Rice 8. Network Management Theory through Management Channels and Roles Joris Voets Part 3. Putting Theory into Practice 9. Network Management Behaviors: Closing the Theoretical Gap Robert Agranoff and Michael McGuire 10. What Can Governance Network Theory Learn From Complexity Theory? Mirroring Two Perspectives on Complexity Joop Koppenjan and Erik-Hans Klijn 11. Network Performance: Towards A Dynamic Multidimensional Model Denita Cepiku Part 4. Implications and Conclusion 12. Bridging the Theoretical Gap and Uncovering the Missing Holes Robert Agranoff

General and craniofacial development are complex adaptive processes influenced by diversity

Abstract: Complex systems are present in such diverse areas as social systems, economies, ecosystems and biology and, therefore, are highly relevant to dental research, education and practice. A Complex Adaptive System in biological development is a dynamic process in which, from interacting components at a lower level, higher level phenomena and structures emerge. Diversity makes substantial contributions to the performance of complex adaptive systems. It enhances the robustness of the process, allowing multiple responses to external stimuli as well as internal changes. From diversity comes variation in outcome and the possibility of major change; outliers in the distribution enhance the tipping points. The development of the dentition is a valuable, accessible model with extensive and reliable databases for investigating the role of complex adaptive systems in craniofacial and general development. The general characteristics of such systems are seen during tooth development: self-organization; bottom-up emergence; multitasking; self-adaptation; variation; tipping points; critical phases; and robustness. Dental findings are compatible with the Random Network Model, the Threshold Model and also with the Scale Free Network Model which has a Power Law distribution. In addition, dental development shows the characteristics of Modularity and Clustering to form Hierarchical Networks. The interactions between the genes (nodes) demonstrate Small World phenomena, Subgraph Motifs and Gene Regulatory Networks. Genetic mechanisms are involved in the creation and evolution of variation during development. The genetic factors interact with epigenetic and environmental factors at the molecular level and form complex networks within the cells. From these interactions emerge the higher level tissues, tooth germs and mineralized teeth. Approaching development in this way allows investigation of why there can be variations in phenotypes from identical genotypes; the phenotype is the outcome of perturbations in the cellular systems and networks, as well as of the genotype. Understanding and applying complexity theory will bring about substantial advances not only in dental research and education but also in the organization and delivery of oral health care.

Understanding and Managing the Complexity of Healthcare

Abstract: An argument that understanding healthcare delivery as a complex adaptive system will help us design a system that yields better health outcomes.Breakthroughs in medical science, innovations in medical technologies, and improvements in clinical practices occur today at an increasingly rapid rate. Yet because of a fragmented healthcare delivery system, many Americans are unable to benefit from these developments. How can we design a system that can provide high-quality, affordable healthcare for everyone? In this book, William Rouse and Nicoleta Serban introduce concepts, principles, models, and methods for understanding, and improving, healthcare delivery. Approaching the topic from the perspectives of engineering and statistics, they argue that understanding healthcare delivery as a complex adaptive system will help us design a system that is more efficient, effective, and equitable.The authors use multilevel simulation models as a quantitative tool for evaluating alternate ways of organizing healthcare delivery. They employ this approach, for example, in their discussions of affordability, a prevention and wellness program, chronic disease management, and primary care accessibility for children in the Medicaid program. They also consider possible benefits from a range of technologies, including electronic health records and telemedicine; data mining as an alternative to randomized trials; conceptual and analytical methodologies that address the complexity of the healthcare system; and how these principles, models, and methods can enable transformational change.

Complex adaptive system mechanisms, adaptive management practices, and firm product innovativeness

Abstract: As a fascinating concept, the mechanisms of complex adaptive system (CAS) attracted many researchers from a variety of disciplines. Nevertheless, how the mechanism-related variables, such as strategic resonance, accreting nodes, pattern forming, and catalytic behavior of organization, impact the firm product innovativeness is rarely addressed empirically in the new product development (NPD) literature. Also, there exist limited studies on the antecedents of the mechanisms of CAS in the NPD literature. In this respect, we identified and operationalized the adaptive management practices, which involve bonding, nonlinear, and attractor behaviors of management, as antecedents of mechanisms and firm product innovativeness. By studying 235 firms, we found that (1) strategic resonance and accreting nodes are positively related to firm product innovativeness, (2) bonding, nonlinear, and attractor behaviors of management positively influence the mechanism variables, and (3) market and technology turbulence impact the adaptive management practices. We also found that mechanisms of CAS partially mediate the relationship between adaptive management practices and firm product innovativeness.

Person-centred health care: a critical assessment of current and emerging research approaches.

Abstract: Rationale, aims and objectives Person-centred health care is prominent in international health care reforms. A shift to understanding and improving personal care at the point of delivery has generated debates about the nature of the person-centred research agenda. This paper purviews research paradigms that influence current person-centred research approaches and traditions that influence knowledge foundations in the field. It presents a synthesis of the emergent approaches and methodologies and highlights gaps between static academic research and the increasing accessibility of evaluation, informatics and big data from health information systems. Findings Paradigms in health services research range from theoretical to atheoretical, including positivist, interpretive, postmodern and pragmatic. Interpretivist (subjective) and positivist (objectivist) paradigms have been historically polarized. Yet, integrative and pragmatic approaches have emerged. Nevertheless, there is a tendency to reductionism, and to reduce personal experiences to metrics in the positivist paradigm. Integrating personalized information into clinical systems is increasingly driven by the pervasive health information technology, which raises many issues about the asymmetry and uncertainty in the flow of information to support personal health journeys. The flux and uncertainty of knowledge between and within paradigmatic or pragmatic approaches highlights the uncertainty and the ‘unorder and disorder’ in what is known and what it means. Transdisciplinary, complex adaptive systems theory with multi-ontology sense making provides an overarching framework for making sense of the complex dynamics in research progress. Conclusion A major challenge to current research paradigms is focus on the individualizing of care and enhancing experiences of persons in health settings. There is an urgent need for person-centred research to address this complex process. A transdisciplinary and complex systems approach provides a sense-making framework.

Advancing the application of systems thinking in health: understanding the growing complexity governing immunization services in Kerala, India

Abstract: Governing immunization services in a way that achieves and maintains desired population coverage levels is complex as it involves interactions of multiple actors and contexts. In one of the Indian states, Kerala, after routine immunization had reached high coverage in the late 1990s, it started to decline in some of the districts. This paper describes an application of complex adaptive systems theory and methods to understand and explain the phenomena underlying unexpected changes in vaccination coverage. We used qualitative methods to explore the factors underlying changes in vaccination coverage in two districts in Kerala, one with high and one with low coverage. Content analysis was guided by features inherent to complex adaptive systems such as phase transitions, feedback, path dependence, and self-organization. Causal loop diagrams were developed to depict the interactions among actors and critical events that influenced the changes in vaccination coverage. We identified various complex adaptive system phenomena that influenced the change in vaccination coverage levels in the two districts. Phase transition describes how initial acceptability to vaccination is replaced by a resistance in northern Kerala, which involved new actors; actors attempting to regain acceptability and others who countered it created several feedback loops. We also describe how the authorities have responded to declining immunization coverage and its impact on vaccine acceptability in the context of certain highly connected actors playing disproportionate influence over household vaccination decisions. Theoretical exposition of our findings reveals the important role of trust in health workers and institutions that shape the interactions of actors leading to complex adaptive system phenomena. As illustrated in this study, a complex adaptive system lens helps to uncover the ‘real’ drivers for change. This approach assists researchers and decision makers to systematically explore the driving forces and factors in each setting and develop appropriate and timely strategies to address them. The study calls for greater consideration of dynamics of vaccine acceptability while formulating immunization policies and program strategies. The analytical approaches adopted in this study are not only applicable to immunization or Kerala but to all complex interventions, health systems problems, and contexts.