Transcript Document
An Introduction to Systems Theory
What Is A System?
• A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal. • Large systems contain many sub systems • Earth is a subsystem of our solar system, which is a subsystem of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is a subsystem of the universe.
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Common Elements of All Systems
Input - the energy or raw material transformed by the system Output - the product of a system’s processing of input Throughput - processes used by the system to convert raw materials or energy from the environment into products that are usable by either the system itself or the environment.
Feedback - a product of the throughput that feeds back into the system as input Control - the activities & processes used to evaluate input, throughput & output Environment - the area surrounding the system Goal - the overall purpose for existence or the desired outcomes.
Systems Theory
• First proposed by Ludwig von Bartalanffy in the 1940s • Many scientific disciplines could use systems theory in research & theory development, and then be able to identify laws & principles which would apply to many systems. • In this way, scientists could better communicate their findings with each other across disciplines & build upon each other's work.
Systems Theory
• Two Assumptions: 1. All phenomena can be viewed as a web of relationships among elements.
2. All systems have common patterns, behaviors, and properties that can be understood and used to develop greater insight into the behavior of complex phenomena.
Basic Principles of Systems Theory
1. A system is greater than the sum of its parts.
2. The system studied must exhibit some predictability.
3. Though each sub-system is a self contained unit, it is part of a wider and higher order.
4. The central objective of a system can be identified by the fact that other objectives will be sacrificed in order to attain the central objective.
5. Every system, living or mechanical, is an information system. 6. A system and its environment are highly interrelated.
7. A highly complex system may have to be broken into subsystems so each can be analyzed and understood before being reassembled into a whole.
8. A system consists of a set of objectives and their relationships.
9. A system is a dynamic network of interconnecting elements. A change in only one of the elements must produce change in all the others.
10. When subsystems are arranged in a series, the output of one is the input for another; therefore, process alterations in one requires alterations in other subsystems.
11. All systems tend toward equilibrium, which is a balance of various forces within and outside of a system.
12. The boundary of a system can change.
13. To be viable, a system must be strongly goal-directed, governed by feedback, and have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
What is Feedback?
• information about the result of a transformation or an action that is sent back to the beginning of a system in the form of input. • If this new information facilitates and accelerates the transformation of input in the same direction as the previous results, it is positive feedback and the effects are cumulative. If the new information produces a result in the opposite direction of previous results, it is negative feedback and the effects stabilize the system.
• http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/mpg/9 7518main_albedoCU.mpg
Systems Theory and Global Warming
• The Earth itself is a system. Its components work in cooperation to maintain equilibrium.
• When elements within Earth’s system are changed, the consequences reverberate through the entire system.
• Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can prevent solar rays from radiating back into space, but the effects don’t stop there.
• The warming melts sea ice, meaning even less solar radiation is reflecting, and warming happens faster.
• The increased temperature caused by the carbon dioxide also melts permafrost, which contains large amounts of methane, another greenhouse gas, and warming happens faster.
• There is a chance for the system to recover until it reaches a tipping point.
So what’s a tipping point?
• A tipping point in global warming is the point “past which the slow creep of environmental decay gives way to sudden and self perpetuating collapse.” • After we reach this point, there may be nothing we can do to stop global warming.
So What Now
• Scientists stress the need for serious reduction in greenhouse gases within the next ten years • Also say emissions must be cut by half within the next fifty years • We all must work towards a massive reduction in greenhouse gases now or face irreversible consequences in the very near future.
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