Topic
Complex adaptive system
About: Complex adaptive system is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3190 publications have been published within this topic receiving 111947 citations. The topic is also known as: Complex adaptive system, CAS.
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TL;DR: In this article, the adaptive process involving the initially nave newcomers, their stock, and Australia's ancient landscapes has been studied at the national, regional, and enterprise scales, and the authors use "panarchy" theory with its concept of adaptive cycles as an analytical framework.
Abstract: Newcomers and exotic livestock have displaced indigenous hunter-gatherers from Australia's drylands over the past 200 yr. This paper seeks to learn from and explain the adaptive process involving the initially nave newcomers, their stock, and Australia's ancient landscapes. We review pastoral adaptation at the national, regional, and enterprise scales. These scales are linked, and so we use "panarchy" theory with its concept of "adaptive cycles" as an analytical framework. Past pastoral adaptation can be summarized by changes in key linkages: pastoralists (1) are now connected to more individuals than when they first moved into the rangelands, but are less reliant on local hubs for these connections; (2) have weaker links to the environment as environmental feedbacks have been reduced; (3) have stronger links to alternate land uses, but weaker links to governance; and (4) have stronger links to the global economy. Further change is inevitable. Pastoralism is likely to remain as the core activity in Australian rangelands, but the dynamic linkages that shape the system will, in future, connect pastoralists more strongly to post-production economies, information and more distant social networks, and to a more diverse group of land users.
61 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore entrepreneurial activity in Maori communities where innovation arises through the interaction of the young opportunity seeking entrepreneur (potiki) and the elder Statesperson (rangatira) and provide an illustrative example of one social entrepreneurship venture: Maori Maps.
Abstract: This paper explores the notion of social innovation as it arises in indigenous communities In particular, we consider entrepreneurial activity in Maori communities where innovation arises through the interaction of the young opportunity seeking entrepreneur (potiki) and the elder Statesperson (rangatira) To explore this behavior in more detail we draw on a neoSchumpeterian understanding of innovation as self-organization: new combinations are seen as "the deliberate formation and re-formation of cooperating groups" (Foster, 2000: 319) We consider social entrepreneurship in the form of indigenous entrepreneurship, in particular Maori entrepreneurship Indigenous entrepreneurship operates at the intersection of social and economic entrepreneurship (Anderson et ah, 2006) It incorporates both social and economic entrepreneurial activity and explicitly acknowledges the particular historical and cultural context from which they arise (Tapsell & Woods, 2007) We discuss Maori entrepreneurship as a complex adaptive system and provide an illustrative example of one social entrepreneurship venture: Maori Maps Based on this discussion we suggest that innovation can usefully be thought of as a double spiral combining the twin flows of opportunity and heritage Introduction Defining social entrepreneurship has proven to be a challenging task (see Massetti; Seitanidi; and Trexler all in this volume as well as: Cheli, 2007; Roberts & Woods 2005; Austin et al, 2006; Dorado, 2006) However, two things are common across the plethora of definitions emerging over the past two decades: 1) an underlying drive to create social value; and, 2) activity characterized by change and the creation of something new rather than the replication of existing enterprises or processes (Austin et al, 2006) Given that change and innovation are inextricably woven within complexity thinking, complexity science makes sense as a relevant perspective to take when engaging in entrepreneurial research (McKelvey, 2004: 314) It also provides an opportunity to connect social entrepreneurship to the theoretical foundations of economic entrepreneurship In particular, we suggest that a neo-Schumpeterian understanding of innovation as self-organization creates a rich avenue from which to explore social entrepreneurship and innovation Hence, for the purposes of this paper we wish to focus on those aspects of complexity science that assist our understanding of how innovation can occur as self-organization within a social context To do this we first provide some brief background on complexity science and Schumpeterian thinking as it relates to self-organization and complex adaptive systems We then discuss complex adaptive systems with reference to interactions that occur within a social structure The specific structure that we explore is the Maori tribal community and the interactions between the potiki (young opportunity seeker) and the rangatira (chiefly elder) that lead to social innovation We then discuss the emergence of "Maori Maps" as an example of social innovation Here opportunity, as sought by potiki within the context of tribal heritage, shapes the path to innovation We suggest that innovation can usefully be thought of as a recurring double spiral, the "Spiral of Innovation," which in Maori is symbolically represented by the double spiral of creation (Takarangi), incorporating opportunity and heritage Background A complex system comprises numerous agents interacting according to particular rules; the system is adaptive in that agents through their interactions coadapt, colearn and coevolve (Holland, 1995; Maguire & McKelvey, 1999) Complex adaptive systems (CAS) are "neural like networks of interacting, interdependent agents who are bonded in a cooperative dynamic by common goals, outlook, rules etc" (Uhl-Bien et al, 2007: 299) They have multiple, overlapping hierarchies and are linked together in a dynamic interactive network …
61 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that behaviour might involve several emergent dynamical processes, hierarchically organized, that affect each other bottom-up and top-down and will be demonstrated in two concrete examples involving mobile robots in which non-trivial individual and collective behaviours have been developed through an evolutionary technique.
Abstract: In this paper we discuss the complex system and adaptive nature of behaviour. The complex system nature of behaviour derives from the fact that behaviour and behavioural properties are phenomena that occur at a given time scale and result from several non-linear interactions occurring at a smaller time scale. Interactions occur in time (i.e. consist of sequence events in which future interactions are constrained by preceding interactions) and might eventually consist of a vector of concurrent interactions. Moreover, we argued that behaviour might involve several emergent dynamical processes, hierarchically organized, that affect each other bottom-up and top-down. The adaptive system nature of behaviour derives from the fact that, due to the very indirect relationship between the properties of the interacting elements and the emergent results of the interactions, behavioural systems can hardly be designed while they can be effectively developed through self-organizing methods in which properties emerging from interactions can be discovered and retained through an adaptive process based on exploration and selection. These two claims will be demonstrated in two concrete examples involving mobile robots in which non-trivial individual and collective behaviours have been developed through an evolutionary technique.
61 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that adaptive planning comes with a shift in focus, instead of content and process, it is first all about creating conditions for development which support a city's capacity to respond to changing circumstances.
Abstract: The development of cities includes a wide variety of uncertainties which challenge spatial planners and decision makers. In response, planning approaches which move away from the ambition to achieve predefined outcomes are being explored in the literature. One of them is an adaptive approach to planning. In this paper, we argue that adaptive planning comes with a shift in focus. Instead of content and process, it is first of all about creating conditions for development which support a city’s capacity to respond to changing circumstances. We explore what these conditions may comprise and how they can be related to planning. First theoretically, by portraying cities as complex adaptive systems. Then empirically, through an evaluation of the practice of organic development strategies in which development trajectories are only minimally structured. Based on a review of 12 Dutch urban development projects, two of which are analysed in detail in this paper, we identify a series of conditions on spatio-functional configurations and the capacity building of local actors which enhance urban adaptability.
61 citations
TL;DR: Experimental econophysics is concerned with statistical physics of humans in the laboratory, and it is based on controlled human experiments developed by physicists to study some problems related to economics or finance as discussed by the authors.
61 citations