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Section Introduction: Systems Analysis
Section Introduction: SYSTEMS ANALYSIS Ó 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The concept of sustainability is meaningful when it is applied to an appropriately defined system. The goal of inferring if a given system is sustainable or is moving toward or away from sustainability is facilitated when the quantitative descriptors of the system, called indicators or metrics, are used in assessing for sustainability. The chapters in this section examine aspects of system analysis for various sustainability systems. Most systems that have environmental, economic, and societal impacts are inherently complex and dynamic, and can be looked on as interacting networks where a change in any part can influence the overall performance of the systems in small or profound ways. Analyzing such systems can be conducted by building mathematical models that use appropriate indicators or metrics, which describe the systems. Systems can be chemical or mechanical manufacturing, ecological, economic, business or institutional, agricultural, forestry, etc. When systems are described in effective ways, predictive models can be used to nudge systems toward sustainability by incorporating judicious changes gleaned from the models. Indicators and metrics are sustainability measures and should be used to identify the behavior of the system overall, and its supply chain. The indicators can be used either off-line to make sustainability assertions or inside the network modeling to yield scenarios for levels of sustainability attainment. For systems where the temporal component is essential for decision making, such as climate change or ecological systems, the same indicators or metrics should be used for all times.
Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies, Volume 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804677-7.02001-6
1
The concept of sustainability is meaningful when it is applied to an appropriately defined system. The goal of inferring if a given system is sustainable or is moving toward or away from sustainability is facilitated when the quantitative descriptors of the system, called indicators or metrics, are used in assessing for sustainability. The chapters in this section examine aspects of system analysis for various sustainability systems. Most systems that have environmental, economic, and societal impacts are inherently complex and dynamic, and can be looked on as interacting networks where a change in any part can influence the overall performance of the systems in small or profound ways. Analyzing such systems can be conducted by building mathematical models that use appropriate indicators or metrics, which describe the systems. Systems can be chemical or mechanical manufacturing, ecological, economic, business or institutional, agricultural, forestry, etc. When systems are described in effective ways, predictive models can be used to nudge systems toward sustainability by incorporating judicious changes gleaned from the models. Indicators and metrics are sustainability measures and should be used to identify the behavior of the system overall, and its supply chain. The indicators can be used either off-line to make sustainability assertions or inside the network modeling to yield scenarios for levels of sustainability attainment. For systems where the temporal component is essential for decision making, such as climate change or ecological systems, the same indicators or metrics should be used for all times.
Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies, Volume 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804677-7.02001-6
1