Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : électronique
Auteur(s) : Bejan, Adrian
Merkx, Gilbert W.
Titre(s) : Constructal Theory of Social Dynamics [Texte électronique]
Publication : Guildford : Springer London ; Boulder : NetLibrary, Inc. [distributor]
Description matérielle : 1 online resource
Note(s) : Constructal Theory of Social Dynamics brings together for the first time social scientists
and engineers to develop a predictive theory of social organization, as a conglomerate
of mating flows that morph in time to flow more easily (people, goods, money, energy,
information). These flows have objectives (e.g., minimization of effort, travel time,
cost), and the objectives clash with global constraints (space, time, resources).
The result is organization (flow architecture) derived from one principle of configuration
evolution in time (the constructal law): "for a flow system to persist in time, its
configuration must morph such that it provides easier access to its streams." Constructal
theory predicts animal design and geophysical flows, and makes evolution a part of
physics. In the social sciences, there is substantial literature based on the use
of optima to deduce social, population and economic dynamics. The constructal approach
of this book links social sciences with physics, biology and engineering. The book
explores the deterministic principle that generates a broad array of patterned phenomena,
in demography, geography, communications, hierarchy, and multiple scales. Examples
are the distribution of living settlements, the occurrence of flow structure inside
each settlement, 'development' as the relation between fast-flowing societies and
advancement and wealth, migration patterns, and globalization. Constructal Theory
of Social Dynamics is novel and important because it puts the occurrence of social
organization on a scientific basis. It brings social organization under the same physics
principle that accounts for the generation of flow architecture (design) in geophysical
flows, animal design, and engineered flows. This exploratory work adds a dose of determinism
to the modeling and predicting of societal flows
Sujet(s) : Ingénierie
Mathématiques
Informatique -- Mathématiques
Physique
Conception technique
Sciences sociales
Indice(s) Dewey :
530 (23e éd.) = Physique
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780387476810
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb446428206
Notice n° :
FRBNF44642820
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : The Constructal Law in Nature and Society ; Constructal Models in Social Processes
; Tree Flow Networks in Urban Design ; Natural Flow Patterns and Structured People
Dynamics: A Constructal View ; Constructal Pattern Formation in Nature, Pedestrian
Motion, and Epidemics Propagation ; The Constructal Nature of the Air Traffic System
; Sociological Theory, Constructal Theory, and Globalization ; Is Animal Learning
Optimal? ; Conflict and Conciliation Dynamics ; Human Aging and Mortality ; Statistical
Mechanical Models for Social Systems ; Discrete Exponential Family Models for Ethnic
Residential Segregation ; Corporate Interlock ; Constructal Approach to Company
Sustainability ; The Inequality Process Is an Evolutionary Process ; Constructal
Theory of Written Language ; Life and Cognition.
