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

PROBLEM (Well structured) 2)

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According to A. NEWELL: "A problem is well structured to the extent that it satisfies the following criteria:

"1. It can be described in terms of numerical variables, scalar and vector quantities.

"2. The goals attained can be specified in terms of a well defined objective function – for example, the maximization of profit or the minimization of cost.

"3. There exist computational routines (algorithms) that permit the solution to be found and stated in actual numerical terms" (as quoted by J.van GIGCH, 1978, p.379).

This stand is obviously refering to quite simple business, or economic, or technical problems where abstraction can be made of human (and possibly qualitative ecological) factors.

van GIGCH observes "… ill-structured problems are amenable only to solutions by heuristics".

→ Problem (ill structured)

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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