This paper discusses the issue of modularity from a problem-solving perspective. Modularity is in fact a decomposition heuristic, through which a complex problem is decomposed into independent or quasi-independent sub-problems. By means of a model of problem decomposition, this paper studies the...

This paper explores the work of Ludwik Fleck and its applicability for the analysis of innovation in complex technical systems. The objectives of the paper are twofold. First, it strives to bring Ludwik Fleck back on the map of technology analysis. For this purpose, it develops a Fleckian...

Networks are very evident in the physical world and particularly in social structures. One focus of research is on investigating the development and maintenance of social network structures. Social networks may be typically categorised as random, scale-free or hierarchical structures. A key...

Knowledge diffusion models typically involve two main features: an underlying social network topology on one side, and a particular design of interaction rules driving knowledge transmission on the other side. Acknowledging the need for realistic topologies and adoption behaviors backed by...

There is growing interest in extending complex systems approaches to the social sciences. This is apparent in the increasingly widespread literature and journals that deal with the topic and is being facilitated by adoption of multi-agent simulation in research. Much of this research uses simple...

We report on research that is developing a simulation model for assessing systemic innovations, or 'transitions', of societal systems towards a more sustainable development. Our overall aim is to outline design principles for models that can offer new insights into tackling persistent problems...

There is empirical evidence from a range of disciplines that as the connectivity of a network increases, we observe an increase in the average fitness of the system. But at the same time, there is an increase in the proportion of failure/extinction events which are extremely large. The...

We analyze the time series of overnight returns for the bund and btp futures exchanged at liffe (London). The overnight returns of both assets are mapped onto a one–dimensional symbolic–dynamics random walk: The “bond walk”. During the considered period (October 1991—January 1994) the...

We describe a simple framework for micro simulation of city traffic. A medium sized excerpt of Dallas was used to examine different levels of simulation fidelity of a cellular automaton method for the traffic flow simulation and simple intersection model. We point out problems arising with the...