Springer Managing and Engineering in Complex Situations: 21 (Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality, 21)

This book explores the effects on systems of complex situations, and in turn the response of systems to complex situations, in a series of papers written by authors who work in complex situations and have dealt with the limitations of the status quo: systems. From the Back Cover With so many terms available to define the same thing, it would seem nearly irresponsible to introduce yet another term (complex situation) to describe a phenomenological state of such as a system. However, a complex situation infers both a broader meaning and imposes a different perspective. Complex in this context is dependent on understanding and reality rather than observer and knowledge.   Situation imposes a gestalt that cannot be characterized within a singular perspective that relegates paradox to a superior/subordinate hierarchy. This also infers that complex situation has no monotonic definition or each definition is by default incomplete. Therefore the perennial derivations for systems such as complex systems, system of systems, federation of systems is no longer a sufficient descriptor for complex situation.  Ergo system and its genealogy lack the constitution to define complex situations. The books' intent is to explore this pathology through a series of papers written by authors that work in complex situations and have dealt with the limitations of the status quo: systems.