BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

TECHNICAL MACROSYSTEM 1)4)

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Any system which implies the simultaneous, interconnected and synergetic use of different technologies. Examples are electrical interconnected networks, telecommunications systems, railways networks, worldwide airlines and aerial traffic control systems.

An important characteristic of these systems is the permanent monitoring and control of the constantly changing state of the network and of its elements, through an uninterrupted flow of information.

Technical macro-systems include of course a considerable number of human participants (the agents of the technical management). They tend to evolve toward increasing complexity and some may undergo phases of instability.

They may also show a growing resistance to change becoming hypercomplex.

According to A. GRAS, the western way of using techniques based on massive energy use is leading mankind toward a network of evermore expanding and integrated socio-technical macrosystems (TMS) (1993).

This is consonant with structuration and emergence through energetic dissipation as established experimentally by BÉNARD and generalized as a thermodynamic non-equilibrium process by PRIGOGINE.

It remains to be seen if these TMS are already acquiring their definitive structure, or if the possible future exhaust of mega and macro fossil energy sources could oblige them to a global reorganization, based for example in numerous smaller local energy sources.

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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