Abstract
Recent social and economic developments have raised concerns regarding various social issues such as those involving the environment, food, depopulation and aging, and garbage. Environmental and food problems occur on a global scale, while other issues are considered regional. It is very difficult to design investigations to clarify possible causes and solutions because these social issues are derived from various complex human activities. To solve these problems, we must elucidate their mechanisms and clarify the relationships among various events in the field. For these purposes, an approach that investigates the causes of social issues by considering society in the form of a model and connecting causal relationships among events can be effective. We can thereby understand society through the behavior of a social model and can predict future situations. System dynamics is a computer simulation technique that is highly useful for understanding society based on logical thinking. In this chapter, the concepts of system dynamics and its applications are introduced.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been developing the Institute of Technology System Dynamics in Education Project, whose Road Maps provide a detailed explanation on SD from its basics. These materials are very useful for beginning learners in SD.
References
Forrester, J.W. Industrial Dynamics., Pegasus Communication, 1961
Forrester, J.W. Urban Dynamics., Pegasus Communication, 1966
Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.L., Randers, J. Beyond the Limits. Chelsea Green Pub., 1992
Meadows, D.H., Randers, J, Meadows, D.L. Limits to Growth – The 30-Year Update, Chelsea Green Pub., 2004
Liu, C., Yoshimura, T., Moriya, K., Sakai, T. A simulation of beef cattle production integrated with rice cultivation using system dynamics (in Japanese). Bulletin of Beef Cattle Science 72 59–66, 2002
Deaton, M.L., Winebrake, J.I. Dynamic Modeling of Environmental Systems. Springer, 1999
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Moriya, K. (2012). System Dynamics. In: Ishida, T. (eds) Field Informatics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29006-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29006-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29005-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29006-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)