Firstly, the network diagram of energy supply and demand system was drawn then a linear optimized model of integrated energy with economy, the target of which is the least cost of energy supply, was developed to optimized the best energy supply structure. Secondly, according to above results, an SD model was built up to predict and to study the developmental changes of the system from the long point of view. Finally, the two models combined was applied to a village with a population of 800 people in the North China Plain and results of computer simulation showed on the base year (1990), if energy transformed devices were invested properly, the cost of energy supply system will be lowest on the condition of meeting the energy demand, at the same time it can save energy, and the energy supply is sufficient. But, with the development of economy and the upgrading of people’s living level, the energy supply will become an important factor for rural economy development. Several alternative plans designed to simulate the system gave different influences of energy to economy.
This study attempts to examine the effectiveness of our proposed learning environment for systems thinking, and the effects of different kinds of task’s screen design for the interactive dynamic decision game to enhancing the learning effect. Two experiments were implemented for the two investigation purposes. In the first experiment, we found that the proposed learning environment was viable for learning resulting from the positive effects of challenging goal setting and causal feedback on the increase of participants’ motivation and understanding of the game. In the second experiment, the effects of causal feedback was examined directly by the comparisons of three different kinds of task’s screen design including causal, hierarchical, and department types. We found causal type of screen design induced more analytical cognitive type just as the prediction of the inducement principle (Hammond,1998) and outperformed the other two screen design as predicted by the correspondence-accuracy principle (Hammond,1998). But the effect of causal type on performance improvement was not significant. The insignificant effect of causal relations task’s screen design on performance improvement revealed that the learning of systems thinking relied mainly on “by doing” or “by failure”, not on “by knowing”. In conclusion, we suggested that the design of dynamic decision game aided systems thinking learning environment should take the motivation factor into account to lead participants make more efforts to learn systems thinking by doing through failures. Although causal relations type could not improve learning effect significantly, however, it induced corresponding causal analytical cognitive type that is beneficial to the learning of systems thinking.
This paper informs the scientific and religious communities about a breakthrough in the study of religion: System Dynamics is being used to model and simulate the experience of a mystic during the time when he traversed the dramatic road to mystical union. The paper briefly presents how his modelling task is being approached and some of the key insights being made by focusing on the dynamics of the important dark night of the soul phase which preceeds mystical union. This gives a synopsis of the essence of my book manuscript, A Meditation of Mystical Union.
Scholars have long attempted to understand the nature of scientific change. Is science characterized by the steady application of universally-accepted norms of logical inquiry, or is it an enterprise that periodically reconstructs itself from new fundamentals? One of the best-known examples of the latter view is Thomas S. Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn argues that new theories replace old ones rather than build upon them, and in the process revolutionize science’s very image of itself (1962:84-85). Scientific progress is seen not as a steady accumulation of truths, but “as succession of tradition-bound periods punctuated by non-cumulative breaks” ( Kuhn 1970:208). Kuhn’s theory has had enormous influence in the social sciences, but it is also of enduring interest in the physical sciences (Barnes 1982; Lightman and Gingerich 1992). The notion of paradigm has, rightly or wrongly, been used to legitimate alternative methods of research as well as to delegitimate dominant modes of inquiry. Nonetheless, although ‘paradigm competition’ has become well-established in the academic lexicon, little is known about what such competition actually entails. How do internal and contextual forces interact to shape and constrain the development of new paradigms? Why do some paradigms last for centuries while others quickly wither?
Models and computer-based information systems frequently meet resistance and suspicion by management, because they often do not meet the knowledge demands of management in a company. Solving this problem requires approaching modelling and information systems development as a management discipline. This discipline involves the activities of developing, maintaining, effective using, and conserving of models and systems. The paper concludes with a normative view of the relation between management levels and model management activities, and considers the possible use of computer-based information systems for effective model management.
In this paper, we put forth another approach to the dominant structure analysis, which we call parameter elasticity method. This method is based on the law of differentiability of solution with respect to parameter. It concerns itself with the dominant structure that contributes most to a particular behavior or behavior change. By applying this law, we develop the new method and new qualitative indexes to determine the dominant structure of a system. This new method has some advantages. One is that it can be applied directly to nonlinear systems without linearization. Another is that it can be accomplished within DYNAMO. In some condition, it may be a good guide to model simplification.
City grew, stagnated and then declined in the past two centuries. This is a general pattern in history in our world. Clearly, there must have been some powerful factors at work. This paper tries to make an explanation of such phenomena. Primary forces behind economies of agglomeration and urbanization and behind diseconomies of agglomeration are explained and revealed. Furthermore, in order to avoid such passage, some principles and ways are explored by system dynamic theory and modeling.The development pattern of a metropolis is closely related to its inner dynamic structure. Policymakers should be well informed and adjust the structures accordingly.Developing new zones adjacent to a metropolis is an effective way to pump the new life into the city. Meanwhile, the coordination and equilibrium between the new and old areas should be appropriately arranged and incorporated.The paper makes a study of the macro relationship among the flows of population, manpower, raw materials, funds and information between two zones and the impact of transportation problem on the whole city.Taking an example of Shanghai, a megalopolis, a series of policies for rebuilding up the functions of the city are suggested.
It is important to apply modern management methods and means to raise the productivity in modern era. But there isn’t powerful and systematic tool, we developed a tool and a series model which based on S.D. theory to diagnose the corporation structure and evaluate the effect of management methods application in corporation.
China’s economy had got its newest growth during the “No. 6 Five Year Plan” period, however, the problem of unbalanced production structure in China’s economy system turned to be more obvious and serious, reflected by the fact that the base economic production, defined as energy production, transportation and raw materials production faced a bigger lag in satisfying the social demand. Raw materials industry, including ferrous metal industry, nonferrous metal industry, chemical industry, building materials industry and forest industry showed even more serious tighteness in meeting the demand. The paper tackles with such a compliacated economy system by combining the qualitative method and quantitative methods. We believes that such a combined approach is effective in dealing with problems associated with a planned, but more and more market orientated economy, such as the economy system of China.
In order to understand the inner mechanism of corporations and incite their vigour, we create a model which provides us with the study of the development of new product R&D and advanced technology absorption, product life period, market promotion, the adjustment of the length of working time, productivity and hiring or firing of workforces.