Complex Systems Theory Resources

Appendix B provides a brief listing of information sources currently available on the World Wide Web (WWW), subject-sorted into a total of 91 WWW Universal Resource Locator (URL) links in 16 categories. Other links and information may be obtained from CA-related newsgroups such as comp, theory. cell-auto, comp.ai, comp.ai.alife and comp.ai.genetic. Additional resources may be found at the author s website at the Center for Naval Analyses http //www.cna.org/isaac. 

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Analytic performance modeling, using queueing theory, is very flexible and complements traditional approaches to performance. It can be used early in the application development life cycle. The actual system, or a version of it, does not have to be bmlt as it would be for a benchmark or prototype. This saves tremendously on the resources needed to bmld and to evaluate a design. On the other hand, a simulation shows the real world in slow motion. Simulation modeling tools allow us to observe the actual behavior of a complex system if the system is unstable, we can see the transient phenomena of queues building up and going down repeatedly. 

Due to the geometric nature of attainable region (AR) theory, as well as the complexity of the systems considered, we often need software tools to help us interpret and visualize our problems. Rather than attempting to populate a conventional CD-ROM with software and additional examples that cannot be adapted over time, we have decided to release this material on a companion website (http //attainableregions.com), which has been developed for this book. We hope that this approach will allow us to cater to the changing needs of the reader and AR community as a whole, where these software resources can be tailored accordingly over time. 

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations reveal a detailed molecular view of electrolyte solutions and interfaces that goes far beyond simple continuum theories. This view has been started with studies of the air/water interface and is currently extended to more complex solid interfaces, colloidal systems, and back to biopolymer solutions, where the whole endeavor of ion specificity began with the classical studies of Franz Hofmeister. Quantum chemical simulations, which have the potential to give more reliable predictions of ion density profiles than classical force field simulations, become increasingly feasible with increasing computational resources [9]. 

Modem motivation theory tries to incorporate what is valuable from all of the earlier theories, and recognises that there are individual differences in the strengths of different motivations both between individuals and over time in the same individual. As far as possible, incentives need to be matched to the individual and the situation (the job of human resources management). It is also recognised that the human system is more complex than many early theories postulated, and that expectations play a strong part in motivation. In other words the force of a motivator is dependent on the sum of the value of the reward and the expectancy that a particular behaviour will lead to the reward. If someone perceives that it will take a great deal of effort to gain any increase in reward, or that the reward does not appear to be dependent upon how much effort is actually put in, their behaviour will not be influenced by that reward. 

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