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Term | Definition |
Complex adaptive systems |
CAS are special cases of complex systems which have the
ability to ‘learn’ and change based on experience. Classic examples of CAS are
as diverse as the stock market, the brain, or the immune system. Lately CAS
approaches have been applied to social organizations and communities (Fuller & Morgan, 2000;
McMillan, 2004; Stacey, 1996). Another property of adaptive systems is that
they have many levels of organization. They have elements or agents which are
seen as building blocks. What |
Complex system | Allen defined a complex system as ‘any system that has within itself a capacity to respond to its environment in more than one way. This essentially means that it is not a mechanical system with a single trajectory, but has some internal possibilities of choice or response that it can bring into play’ (Allen, 2001, p. 150). Another characteristic of the system term used in this research is expressed by Watzlawick: “each part of a system […] is connected to all other parts, in such a manner that a change in one entity causes a change in all entities and therewith of the whole system” (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 2000, p. 119). (see Annex C for more detailed info) |
Glossary V2.0 |