Application Of Systems Theory Research Articles

Sustainability under Active Inference

In this paper, we explore the known connection among sustainability, resilience, and well-being within the framework of active inference. Initially, we revisit how the notions of well-being and resilience intersect within active inference before defining sustainability. We adopt a holistic concept of sustainability denoting the enduring capacity to meet needs over time without depleting crucial resources. It extends beyond material wealth to encompass community networks, labor, and knowledge. Using the free energy principle, we can emphasize the role of fostering resource renewal, harmonious system–entity exchanges, and practices that encourage self-organization and resilience as pathways to achieving sustainability both as an agent and as a part of a collective. We start by connecting active inference with well-being, building on existing work. We then attempt to link resilience with sustainability, asserting that resilience alone is insufficient for sustainable outcomes. While crucial for absorbing shocks and stresses, resilience must be intrinsically linked with sustainability to ensure that adaptive capacities do not merely perpetuate existing vulnerabilities. Rather, it should facilitate transformative processes that address the root causes of unsustainability. Sustainability, therefore, must manifest across extended timescales and all system strata, from individual components to the broader system, to uphold ecological integrity, economic stability, and social well-being. We explain how sustainability manifests at the level of an agent and then at the level of collectives and systems. To model and quantify the interdependencies between resources and their impact on overall system sustainability, we introduce the application of network theory and dynamical systems theory. We emphasize the optimization of precision or learning rates through the active inference framework, advocating for an approach that fosters the elastic and plastic resilience necessary for long-term sustainability and abundance.

Can dynamical systems theory be applied to second language acquisition? The issues of reductionism and intentionality

In this article we address two key questions in the application of dynamical systems theory (DST) to second language acquisition (SLA) that have not been resolved in recent debates about this issue. The first question relates to reductionism. Is an antireductionist position a necessary element of DST? We show that the radical antireductionist stance put forward by key movers of the application of DST to SLA neither follows from the mathematics of DST nor from the application of DST to science and that radical antireductionism results in an impasse for empirical research. In contrast, we argue that reductionism offers ways in which theory-derived hypotheses can be formed about subsystems that can be studied empirically using DST mathematics. The second question relates to intentionality. Are physical systems and mental systems similar enough to justify applying DST principles based in the physical sciences to processes in the human mind? Following Tschacher, we argue that current evidence suggests that there is a limited class of mental phenomena that can arise from physical phenomena. It is only this class of mental phenomena that can currently be modeled using DST mathematics. We offer a discussion of these perspectives to indicate how important it is to resolve these fundamental questions. In our view, these fundamental issues need resolution to put the application of DST to SLA on a solid conceptual and empirical footing.

Rural Research and Development Corporations’ Connection to Agricultural Industry School Partnerships

The Australian Government has prioritized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in recent years to ensure that the country has an adequate future workforce. The agriculture industry is a major employer with a diverse range of occupations heavily focused on STEM. Many students do not realize the career opportunities in the sector, which is currently facing severe workforce shortages. Industry school partnerships (ISPs) have been identified as one creative model to improve students’ knowledge of an industry and aspirations for associated careers. Whilst ISPs have been implemented in the STEM context, limited research understands how industry organizations are involved in, influence, and interconnect with ISPs. Australia’s Rural Research and Development Corporations (RRDCs) are legislated agricultural industry bodies and were selected to investigate due to the value ISPs could provide to this STEM-focused industry with workforce shortages. This qualitative case study analyzed data from the most current RRDC strategic and annual operating plans as of 27 July 2023 and semi-structured interviews with an employee(s) in a position relevant to student education of all 15 RRDCs in 2022. The key findings were that ISPs were considered part of the solution to address industry sustainability, though RRDCs were commonly only informally involved. Collaboration between industry partners, facilitators, and teachers at strategic and management levels and across commodities was essential. RRDCs were found to be strongly connected to ISP ecosystems through their role in research and development. We argue that RRDCs are positioned as essential stakeholders with the scope to improve agricultural ISP ecosystems as part of their role in driving agricultural innovation. These findings support the application of ecological systems theory to agricultural ISPs and help us to understand these structures. This paper aims to help those creating ISPs to consider and understand all stakeholders, including industry bodies, to deliver quality future partnerships that benefit both STEM sectors and primary and secondary student education.

A Systemic Perspective to Realizing and Improving Quality of Education in Schools

Poor education quality leads to student failure. Improving education quality requires an interdisciplinary approach from various stakeholders with skills to develop educational interventions. Training education personnel in quality improvement processes without buy-in from systems theory is unlikely to be successful. We examine how systems theory helps in education quality realization. An analysis of education levels and their roles in the attainment of education quality is done. This discussion leads to a conclusion of the need for an effective interdisciplinary systemic perspective to realize education quality. The study recommends education systems to apply systems theory to understand educational issues for improvement purposes.

A novel hybrid grey-BCM approach in multi-criteria decision making: An application in OTT platform

Real world decision making is like a puzzle having complex, uncertain and vague information and this fact portray the wide range applicability of grey system theory in decision making procedure as grey system theory deals with the systems having information with uncertainty. In order to extend the base-criterion method to uncertain conditions, grey information may be a better way to solve a lot of multi-criteria decision-making problems. In this paper, we proposed a novel approach ‘grey base-criterion method’ (GBCM) based on the linguistic variables extended to the grey information. Weights of criteria have been calculated using GBCM. Numerical examples are illustrated and then the results are compared by the grey best-worst method (GBWM). Results of comparison show the high reliability of GBCM method with less consistency ratio over GBWM. A real case study of the fastest growing OTT (Over the Top) platforms in India has been taken to bestow the robustness of the proposed method.

Research through co-design

Abstract Research Through Design (RTD) needs to reconsider the meaning of “designing” in the research process of “through design.” We propose Research Through Co-design (RTC) as a new application of Control System Theory (CST) that includes a research problem assigned to a co-design process in RTD. It embeds the participatory paradigm through collaborative design practice and makes the research a collaborative process for learning from all the participants. To sustain the RTC theory, we present a cognitive model of RTC. It is a “model for” – rather than a “model of” – describing how the co-design, as a neural network process, works through its nodes’ collaboration to find co-designed solutions and the research answer. Diversity increases as non-experts and non-designers with different backgrounds participate. This is valuable for the RTC learning system. The discussions highlight the possibility of considering (i) the RTC model as useful for describing a robust RTD process through CST; (ii) RTC as a cognitive model for explaining the value of co-design in research processes; and (iii) RTC as a strategy for applying the participative paradigm in formal research. Finally, new insights and implications are highlighted, including using RTC as a predictive tool through artificial intelligence.

The interaction of factors in constructing English learning motivation of China’s government-sponsored overseas academic visiting candidates on an official preparatory program

The present study investigates the English learning motivation of China’s government-sponsored overseas academic visiting candidates on an official intensive English preparatory program. A structural equation model (SEM) analysis was conducted on the results of a 33-item questionnaire survey taken by 632 such candidates, most of whom were university academics. By establishing a SEM model for the general sample and four sub-models for its sub-samples, the study delineates the complex interaction of the components in shaping this population’s English learning motivation against the backdrop of China’s grand socio-educational ambition. It also reveals some nuanced differences in the path coefficients in this motivational complex within each of its two sub-sample sets: the candidates with humanities and social science backgrounds vs. those with science backgrounds and the candidates from an institution or program on China’s Double First Class initiative vs. those not. These research findings may help a better understanding of the English learning ecology in today’s China. Theoretically, this study reinforces the usefulness of the prevailing L2 Motivational Self System framework while at the same time accentuating its socio-contextual variance; it also illuminates the future direction pertaining to the application of the Complex Dynamic Systems theory.

Automatic Control and System Theory and Advanced Applications—Volume 2

The aim of the Special Issue on Automatic Control and System Theory and Advanced Applications, the second volume of a previous paper selection, is to emphasize the role of new inventions in the area of automatic control applications [...]

The effects of COVID-19 event strength on job burnout among primary medical staff

BackgroundAs a global pandemic, The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought significant challenges to the primary health care (PHC) system. Health professionals are constantly affected by the pandemic’s harmful impact on their mental health and are at significant risk of job burnout. Therefore, it is essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of how their burnout was affected. The study aimed to examine the relationship between COVID-19 event strength and job burnout among PHC providers and to explore the single mediating effect of job stress and work engagement and the chain mediating effect of these two variables on this relationship.MethodsMultilevel stratified convenience sampling method was used to recruit 1148 primary medical staff from 48 PHC institutions in Jilin Province, China. All participants completed questionnaires regarding sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 event strength, job stress, work engagement, and job burnout. The chain mediation model was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS 3.5 Macro Model 6.ResultsCOVID-19 event strength not only positively predicted job burnout, but also indirectly influenced job burnout through the mediation of job stress and work engagement, thereby influencing job burnout through the “job stress → work engagement” chain.ConclusionsThis study extends the application of event systems theory and enriches the literature about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted PHC medical staff job burnout. The findings derived from our study have critical implications for current and future emergency response and public policy in the long-term COVID-19 disease management period.

Child abuse and kinship guardianship: social work and indigenization perspectives in Indonesia

Indigenization was an essential issue in social work; however, it was hardly explored in previous studies on child abuse related to kinship guardianship. This article aimed to describe the assessment of eligibility of the alternative caregiver and examine the intervention for the permanency plan of the abused child. The abused child was removed from Western culture to his grandfather living in the Eastern context. This study employed a qualitative approach with seventeen participants. Data-gathering techniques included document search, in-depth interviews, observation, and drawing analysis. The assessment of the eligibility of the grandfather that applied systems theory and indigenization showed that the grandfather was eligible as the alternative caregiver. At the intervention phase, an emphasis on indigenization led to guardianship -not adoption- as an option for the child's best interest. The implications for social work practice and education were that indigenization should be given more space, especially in multicultural societies; when alternative care is required, Indonesian and African social workers should encourage the kinship form, considering strong community ties as the social capital; future research should focus on indigenization in permanency plan for abused disabled children. How to reference using ASWNet style: Nugroho, F. (2023). Child abuse and kinship guardianship: social work and indigenization pperspectives in Indonesia. African Journal of Social Work, 13(5), 224-234. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v13i5.1 Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net

Spatio-temporal dynamics of an acoustically forced cryogenic coaxial jet injector

This study focuses on the application of dynamical systems theory to characterize the local susceptibility of a nonreacting, cryogenic, coaxial-jet, rocket injector to transverse acoustics. This is achieved using trajectories of the phase space obtained from high-speed imaging data, which reveal the underlying dynamical states of the system. Recurrence analysis is then used to obtain regular patterns in low-dimensional sub-space plots and provide a measure of the local response through recurrence quantification analysis. Of particular interest is quantification of the spatio-temporal coupling of the jet with the external acoustics as a function of the relative momentum flux ratio between the outer and inner jets. At lower outer-to-inner jet momentum flux ratios (J < 1), the jets have a relatively strong local response to acoustic coupling in the near field. This is followed by a sharp drop in this response further downstream where a broad range of instabilities indicates turbulent breakdown of the acoustic mode. This is in contrast to higher outer-to-inner jet momentum flux ratios (J > 1), for which the jets are intermittently coupled to the acoustic mode throughout the entire axial domain due to the presence of a second harmonic or natural instability mode. These dynamical systems analysis tools are used in conjunction with wavelet filtering to improve the utility of high-speed backlit images and are qualitatively consistent with wavelet analysis of the acoustic mode within the flow. The utility of these methods for quantifying the local susceptibility of turbulent coaxial jets to acoustic perturbations can provide powerful insight for the design and optimization of passive or active control systems for bipropellant rocket injectors and other potential propulsion applications.

Progress across ecological systems countering intergenerational transmission of intimate partner violence

With this article we question the universality of the popular truism that intimate partner violence (IPV) between adult partners is transmitted from generation to generation. We illustrate how the concept of ‘intergenerational transmission of IPV’ fails to capture the complex social processes that are likely to influence individuals who experience IPV as children and as they grow. Building on a feminist application of ecological systems theory, how multiple systems have evolved to differently influence children who grow up with IPV is considered. This approach offers understanding of perspectives that promote social change and the self-worth and positive agency of children who grow up with IPV. We offer a unique contribution by exploring ways intergenerational transmission of IPV is rebutted in the twenty-first century, and how change is facilitated so that children who grow up with IPV can achieve healthy relationships when supported by all levels of the ecological system.

Organoids as complex (bio)systems.

Organoids are three-dimensional structures derived from stem cells that mimic the organization and function of specific organs, making them valuable tools for studying complex systems in biology. This paper explores the application of complex systems theory to understand and characterize organoids as exemplars of intricate biological systems. By identifying and analyzing common design principles observed across diverse natural, technological, and social complex systems, we can gain insights into the underlying mechanisms governing organoid behavior and function. This review outlines general design principles found in complex systems and demonstrates how these principles manifest within organoids. By acknowledging organoids as representations of complex systems, we can illuminate our understanding of their normal physiological behavior and gain valuable insights into the alterations that can lead to disease. Therefore, incorporating complex systems theory into the study of organoids may foster novel perspectives in biology and pave the way for new avenues of research and therapeutic interventions to improve human health and wellbeing.

Spillover Effects and Performance Optimization of Air Pollution Control Policies: Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Region, China

Government policy is crucial to control air pollution, while industrial structure upgrading and green technology progress are needed to optimize air pollution control performance (APCP). Meanwhile, policy spillovers from one region to another affect the APCP. This study applied systems theory to explain the mechanisms that drive both environmental policy spillover and APCP. We evaluated the APCPs of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2006 to 2020 using a super-efficiency SBM-DEA model. We then analyzed the paths by which industry and technology drive APCP using a spatial Durbin model (SDM) and investigated heterogeneity across different regional governance groups. The effects generated by the regulatory spillover of air pollutants were decomposed into four subsystems: chain transmission effect, vibration effect, ripple effect, and halo effect. The results show the following: (1) Throughout the study period, the APCP of most of the regional governance groups in the Yangtze River Delta region showed a fluctuating trend with continuous improvement. The APCP was higher and more stable in the Zhejiang Province in the southeast, and lower and more drastic in the Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces in the north, and shows a significant positive spatial correlation. (2) Industrial structure upgrading and green technology progress had different impact paths on the APCP. Industrial structure upgrading had a significant indirect contribution to the APCP, but the direct effect was not significant. Green technology progress had a significant direct inhibitory effect and an indirect promoting effect on the APCP. (3) In the optimization path of the APCP, industrial structure upgrading played a more important role than green technology progress, but they did not reinforce each other’s enhancement of the APCP. (4) There was regional heterogeneity in the impacts of industry and technology on the APCP. The paths and actual effects of industry and technology on the APCP varied greatly among different regional governance groups.

Diagrammatic Abstractions: Jay Forrester’s Urban Dynamics and Its Contribution to Architecture and Urban Planning in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

In the 1960s and ’70s, Jay Wright Forrester (1918–2016) created a rigorous new method he called Urban Dynamics, in which he applied systems theory to urban planning by an extensive use of diagrams and computation. This article discusses how Forrester’s theories migrated from business theory to urbanism in educational settings and into real-life planning scenarios in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). By focusing specifically on how Forrester adopted systems drawings that incorporated data and the use of computation for urban planning, the article argues that Urban Dynamics marked a changing approach to urban planning, favouring general managerial knowledge over competences specific to urban design. By conducting a visual analysis of Forrester’s diagrams, the article demonstrates how Forrester’s diagrams for his Urban Dynamics model were instrumental in concealing political ideals that blurred the border between the real and the ideal.

Single machine scheduling with interval grey processing time

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the grey scheduling, which is the combination of grey system theory and scheduling problems with uncertain processing time. Based on the interval grey number and its related definitions, properties, and theorems, the single machine scheduling with uncertain processing time and its general forms are studied as the research object. Then several single machine scheduling models are reconstructed, and an actual production case is developed to illustrate the rationality of the research.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors first summarize the definitions and properties related to interval grey numbers, especially the transitivity of the partial order of interval grey numbers, and give an example to illustrate that the transitivity has a positive effect on the computational time complexity of multiple interval grey number comparisons. Second, the authors redefine the general form of the single machine scheduling problem with uncertain processing time according to the definitions and theorems of interval grey numbers. The authors then reconstruct three single machine scheduling models with uncertain processing time, give the corresponding heuristic algorithms based on the interval grey numbers and prove them. Finally, the authors develop a case study based on the engine test shop of K Company, the results show that the proposed single machine scheduling models and algorithms with uncertain processing time can provide effective guidance for actual production in an uncertain environment.FindingsThe main findings of this paper are as follows: (1) summarize the definitions and theorems related to interval grey numbers and prove the transitivity of the partial order of interval grey numbers; (2) define the general form of the single machine scheduling problem with interval grey processing time; (3) reconstruct three single machine scheduling models with uncertain processing time and give the corresponding heuristic algorithms; (4) develop a case study to illustrate the rationality of the research.Research limitations/implicationsIn the further research, the authors will continue to summarize more advanced general forms of grey scheduling, improve the theory of grey scheduling and prove it, and further explore the application of grey scheduling in the real world. In general, grey scheduling needs to be further combined with grey system theory to form a complete theoretical system.Originality/valueIt is a fundamental work to define the general form of single machine scheduling with uncertain processing time used the interval grey number. However, it can be seen as an important theoretical basis for the grey scheduling, and it is also beneficial to expand the application of grey system theory in real world.

Applying ecological systems theory to juvenile legal system interventions outcomes research: a measurement framework.

Intervention research and development for youth in the juvenile legal system (JLS) has often focused on recidivism as the primary outcome of interest. Although recidivism is an important outcome, it is ultimately a downstream marker of success and is affected by changes in other domains of youths' lives (e.g., family and peer relations, neighborhood safety, local and state-level policies). Thus, the present manuscript proposes the application of ecological systems theory to selecting outcomes to assess intervention effects in JLS intervention research to better capture proximal and distal influences on youth behavior. To that end, we first provide an overview of the strengths and limitations of using recidivism as an outcome measure. Next, the current application of social ecology theory to existing research on both risk and protective factors of JLS involvement is discussed, as well as existing work on assessing social-ecological domains within intervention studies. Then, a measurement framework is introduced for selecting pertinent domains of youths' social ecologies to assess as intervention outcomes, moderators, and mediators. To facilitate this, we provide examples of concrete constructs and measures that researchers may select. We conclude with potential new avenues of research to which our proposed framework could lead, as well as potential limitations of implementing our framework.

Dynamic models for musical rhythm perception and coordination.

Rhythmicity permeates large parts of human experience. Humans generate various motor and brain rhythms spanning a range of frequencies. We also experience and synchronize to externally imposed rhythmicity, for example from music and song or from the 24-h light-dark cycles of the sun. In the context of music, humans have the ability to perceive, generate, and anticipate rhythmic structures, for example, "the beat." Experimental and behavioral studies offer clues about the biophysical and neural mechanisms that underlie our rhythmic abilities, and about different brain areas that are involved but many open questions remain. In this paper, we review several theoretical and computational approaches, each centered at different levels of description, that address specific aspects of musical rhythmic generation, perception, attention, perception-action coordination, and learning. We survey methods and results from applications of dynamical systems theory, neuro-mechanistic modeling, and Bayesian inference. Some frameworks rely on synchronization of intrinsic brain rhythms that span the relevant frequency range; some formulations involve real-time adaptation schemes for error-correction to align the phase and frequency of a dedicated circuit; others involve learning and dynamically adjusting expectations to make rhythm tracking predictions. Each of the approaches, while initially designed to answer specific questions, offers the possibility of being integrated into a larger framework that provides insights into our ability to perceive and generate rhythmic patterns.

Reason-Based Recommendations From a Developmental Systems Approach for Students With Needs Across Functional Domains.

This tutorial aims to introduce school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to developmental systems theory as a framework for considering interactions across functional domains, such as language, vision, and motor, for students with complex needs. This tutorial summarizes the current literature on developmental systems theory in its application to working with students who have needs in multiple domains of functioning in addition to communication. A hypothetical case of a student, James, with cerebral palsy, cortical visual impairment, and complex communication needs, is presented to illustrate the primary tenets of the theory. Specific reason-based recommendations are presented that SLPs can put to practice with their own caseload in direct response to the three tenets of developmental systems theory. A developmental systems approach will be useful in expanding SLP knowledge of where to begin and how to best serve children with language, motor, vision, and other concomitant needs. The tenets, including sampling, context dependency, and interdependency, and the application of developmental systems theory can be instrumental in providing a way forward for SLPs struggling with the assessment and intervention of students with complex needs.

Methodology for Determining the Limit Values of National Security Indicators Using Artificial Intelligence Methods

Applying artificial intelligence methods, the paper frames the algorithm structure and software for the formalized determination of the type of distribution (automatic classification) of the probability density function and the vector of limit values by justifying theoretically security gradations and determining quantitatively security indicators. The methodological basis of the research is the applied systems theory, statistical analysis, and methods of artificial intelligence (cluster analysis). The study of the approaches applied showed the absence of a theoretical basis for determining security gradations and the absence of their theoretical quantitative justification. The theoretical basis for determining security gradations is the concept of an extended "homeostatic plateau", which connects three levels of security in both directions: optimal, crisis, and critical with spheres of positive, neutral and negative feedback. To determine the bifurcation points (vector of limit values), the “t-criterion” method is used, which consists in constructing the probability density function of a “benchmark” sample, determining whether it belongs to the type of distribution with the calculation of statistical characteristics (mathematical expectation, mean square deviation, and asymmetry coefficient) and formalized calculation of the vector of limit values for characteristic types of distribution (normal, lognormal, exponential). To solve the problem of recognising (automatic classifying) the type of distribution of probability density functions of security indicators, artificial intelligence methods are used, namely, a discriminant method from the class of cluster analysis methods using quantitative and qualitative metrics: Euclidean distance, Manhattan metric and recognition by characteristic features. To digitize the determination of the vector of safety indicators limit values, an algorithm structure and software in the C++ programming language (version 6) have been developed, which ensures full automation of all stages of the algorithm and the adequacy of recognising graphic digital data with a predetermined number of clusters (types of distribution). A distinctive feature of the proposed method of formalized determination of the security indicators limit values is a complete absence of subjectivity and complete mathematical formalization, which significantly increases the speed, quality and reliability of the results obtained when evaluating the level of sustainable development, economic security, national security or national stability, regardless of the level of a researcher's qualification.