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.

Mental life. A naturalized approach to the autonomy of cognitive agents

Abstract: Recent advances in modelling complex adaptive systems through computer simulation have reconfigured the way in which mechanistic explanations can conceptualize the mind. The goal of the thesis is to make explicit the construction of a modelfor Minds as a complex generative organization. For doing so, and under the difficulties of current approaches to specify cognitive systems as distinct from generic computational or dynamical ones, the construction of a model for minds departs from a minimalist, universal and naturalized conception of agency. Three conditions are state to provide a satisfactory account of agency: self-generated individuality, normativity and causal-asymmetry. A morphophylogenetic approach is proposed whereby increasingly complex models of agency are generated from the bottom-up. The morphophylogenetic reconstruction starts with the origins of life as the emergence of a self-encapsulated chemical network capable to maintain and repair itself. The autonomous organization of living organisms is shown to be capable to satisfy the three conditions for agency. Taking biological autonomy as a departure point the thesis covers the main organizational evolutionary transitions of agency that lead to bilaterian organisms. A number of case studies (E. coli, A. digitale and C. elegans) are provided to illustrate different aspects of such transitions until adaptive behaviour (made possible by multicellular organisms endowed with a nervous systems and mechanically articulated bodies) is precisely defined and its modelling process made explicit. The mechanisms underlying biologically adaptive behaviour are evaluated to test whether they are capable to provide a satisfactory model for minds. A number of problems are found and made explicit for the project of grounding intentionality in biological (metabolic) organization. An alternative research avenue is proposed in which it is the autonomy of behaviour (and not that of its underlying infrastructure) what serves to naturalize intentional agency. It is argued that under certain body and environmental conditions the nervous system will evolve making possible more plastic, flexible and integrated (Le. more complex) behaviour. In turn, complex behaviour makes possible the emergence of a new level of normativity and functionality in living beings, that provided by the developmental history of neural organization, leading to a progressive autonomy of sensorimotor interactions and generating what might be called Mental Life. To characterize it we introduce the notion of neurodynamic sensorimotor structures as the main components of cognitive organization. Mentallife is an open process by which dynamic structures appear nested on a self-sustaining web of stability dependencies. The mind has a life of its own: a self-maintaining dynamic organization that remains open to its world in order to maintain its coherency and identity. We defend that the appearance of an open process of sensorimotor interactions sustained by the nervous system and normatively regulated by its bioregulatory embodiment (an emotional world) gives rise to cognitive phenomena, embedded on but distinct from biological organization. Metal life constitutes a mechanistic generative model for minds and provides a number of new insights on the way in which cognitive and mindful properties could be conceptualized and modelled in contemporary cognitive science and philosophy of mind.

Exploring the Synergy Between Industrial Ecology and System of Systems to Understand Complexity A Case Study in Air Transportation

Abstract: Summary Twoobjectivesarepursuedinthisarticle.First,fromamethodological perspective, we explore the relationships among the constructs of complex adaptive systems, systems of systems, and industrial ecology. Through examination of central traits of each, we find that industrial ecology and system of systems present complementary frameworks for posing systemic problems in the context of sociotechnical applications. Furthermore, we contend that complexity science (the basis for the study of complex adaptive systems) provides a natural and necessary foundation and set of tools to analyze mechanisms such as evolution, emergence, and regulation in these applications. The second objective of the article is to illustrate the use of two tools from complexity sciences to address a network transition problem in air transportation framed from the system-of-systems viewpoint and shaped by an industrial ecology perspective. A stochastic simulation consisting of network theory analysis combined with agent-based modeling to study the evolution of an air transport network is presented. Patterns in agent behavior that lead to preferred outcomes across two scenarios are observed, and the implications of these results for decision makers are described. Furthermore, we highlight the necessity for future efforts to combine the merits of both system of systems and industrial ecology in tackling the issues of complexity in such large-scale, sociotechnical problems.

Successful programs wanted: Exploring the impact of alignment

Abstract: Alignment between formulation and implementation of business strategy can be important for achieving successful programs. The authors have explored the development of a program management alignment theory. Statistical testing showed that interaction between the study model variables was found to be multidimensional, complex, and subtle in influence. Thus, the authors conclude that programs have both deliberate and emergent strategies requiring design and management to be organized as complex adaptive systems. Program life-cycle phases of design and transition were often formed from an unclear and confusing strategic picture at the outset, which can make those phases difficult to control. Learning was established as an underlying challenge. The study model demonstrated continuous alignment as an essential attribute contributing toward successful delivery. This requires program design and structure to adopt an adaptive posture.

Unraveling the Complexity of the Jevons Paradox: The Link Between Innovation, Efficiency, and Sustainability

Abstract: The term ‘Jevons Paradox’ flags the need to consider the different hierarchical scales at which a system under analysis changes its identity in response to an innovation. Accordingly, an analysis of the implications of the Jevons Paradox must abandon the realm of reductionism and deal with the complexity inherent in the issue of sustainability: When studying evolution and real change how can we define “what has to be sustained” in a system that continuously becomes something else? In an attempt to address this question this paper presents three theoretical concepts foreign to conventional scientific analysis: (i) complex adaptive systems—to address the peculiar characteristics of learning and self-producing systems; (ii) holons and holarchy—to explain the implications of the ambiguity found when observing the relation between functional and structural elements across different scales (steady-state versus evolution); and (iii) Holling’s adaptive cycle—to illustrate the existence of different phases in the evolutionary trajectory of a complex adaptive system interacting with its context in which either external or internal constraints can become limiting. These concepts are used to explain systemic drivers of the Jevons Paradox. Looking at society’s thermodynamic foundations, sustainability is based on a dynamic balance of two contrasting principles regulating the evolution of complex adaptive systems: the minimum entropy production and the maximum energy flux. The co-existence of these two principles explains why in different situations innovation has to play a different role in the ‘sustainable development’ of society: (i) when society is not subject to external biophysical constraints improvements in efficiency serve to increase the final consumption of society and expand its diversity of functions and structures; (ii) when the expansion of society is limited by external constraints improvements in efficiency should be used to avoid as much as possible the loss of the existing diversity. It is concluded that sustainability cannot be achieved by technological innovations alone, but requires a continuous process of institutional and behavioral adjustment.