Complex Coastal Systems: Transdisciplinary learning on international case studies

The transdisciplinary research synthesised in this book represents an endeavour by a group of coastal researchers and policy analysts to learn from a cross-comparison of seven international case studies on tidal inlet or estuary mouth management situations, located in South Africa, Sri Lanka, California, Suriname, Ireland and the Netherlands....

Clothing design for promoting sustainable use: Social and technical durability

Many life cycle assessment studies document that the most resource demanding phase during the clothing life cycle is the use period. This paper discusses how to reduce the environmental impacts of clothing use by improved design. Complete systems thinking is required, evaluating contributions by all the actors in the clothes’ life cycle chain....

Three Approaches to Design Engineering in the Health Domain: A Systemic Perspective

This paper proposes a categorization of existing approaches to healthcare-related engineering design based on systems thinking principles. Three existing approaches to healthcare-related engineering design are isolated which contribute differently to health systems fundamental purposes and interconnections. The three approaches are labeled as ...

A Systems Design Approach to Sustainable Development: Embracing the Complexity of Energy Challenges in Low-income Markets

The societal and technical problems faced by low-income markets are increasingly seen as more complex due to environmental, social, and economic concerns. The enormous negative impacts of complex societal problems and the inability of designers to deal with complexity cannot be overcome without a paradigm shift in how we understand, engage with,...

Achieving Organisational Alignment, Safety and Sustainable Performance in Organisations

When looking at socio-technical systems from a systems thinking and systemic perspective, it becomes clear that mental models govern the behaviours and determine the achievements of socio-technical systems. This is also the case for individuals, being systems themselves and, as such, being elements of those socio-technical systems. Individual...

A systems design approach to sustainable development: Embracing the Complexity of Energy Challenges in Low-income Markets

Machine-assisted agent-based modeling: Opening the black box

While agent-based modeling (ABM) has become one of the most powerful tools in quantitative social sciences, it remains difficult to explain their structure and performance. We propose to use artificial intelligence both to build the models from data, and to improve the way we communicate models to stakeholders. Although machine learning is...

Safety science, a systems thinking perspective: From events to mental models and sustainable safety

In the past one hundred years, concepts such as risk, safety and security have become ever more important and they represent a growing concern in our society. These concepts are also important subjects of study to enhance sustainability. During the past fifty years, safety science has gradually developed as an independent field of science. In...

Towards systems-oriented energy solutions: A multilevel analysis of a low-income energy efficiency program in Brazil

There is a consensus among scholars and practitioners that energy solutions, such as electricity services and related products and systems, are paramount to the ability of nations to overcome environmental and social issues. As a result, policymakers and problem solvers in emerging economies have shown a keen interest in the transition to...

Environmental considerations in engineering: systemic differences between experts and novices

Engineering knowledge forms an essential part of our planetary fight against climate change. Traditionally, engineering curricula emphasizes the importance of technical knowledge and encourages to specialize in niche areas, where engineers develop themselves into experts. However, it is important to be able to reflect on complex societal...

Modelling participatory modelling

To deal with increasing complexity and connectivity of socio-technical systems it becomes unlikely for individuals to be able to oversee all possible changes. These systems are riddled with a plurality of actors with differing interests, disciplines, institutions and ecological limitations. Examples of systems like these are energy and gas grids...

Guiding food safety authorities in inspection strategy design: A systems approach to food safety regulation

The Nederlandse- Voedsel en Warenautoriteit (NVWA) asked the at-first-sight simple question of how to combine risk-based and random methods for inspection. Risk-based and random inspection methods have contrasting incentives. Risk-based inspection increases efficiency and allocates resources efficiently but fails to regulate low and emergent...

Subversive machines: Designing architectural freedom through open systems

This project forms an exploration of the way in which architecture, as a discipline, might come to a distinctly architectural application of computational design techinques. In particular, it questions the external nature of these techniques to the field, and how the discipline might come to formulate its own critical technicity. This is...

A systems-thinking approach to explore the causes underlying the decision-making of premature demolition

This study aims to provide insight into the causes underlying premature building demolition to improve the understanding of demolition decisions that might help reduce the number of demolitions in the construction sector.<br/>This study adopted a System Thinking based Approach and a case study. The methods explored a Dutch university building...

Disinformation in the European Union: Using systems thinking to assess the impact of current policies to reduce the spread and production of disinformation

Disinformation is a problem that has become more relevant over the past years. Also the European Union tried and is trying to deal with this problem by introducing multiple policy actions. However, the impact and usefulness of these policies is not clear. This thesis uses a combination of stakeholder analysis, interviews and systems thinking to...

Power Literacy: Towards a Socially Just, Decolonial and Democratic Design Process

This report outlines the design process, research activities and results of a graduation thesis on power and privilege in multi-stakeholder public and social sector design processes. Due to a perceived gap in the design field, both in education and practice, the aim of this project is to support designers in becoming more aware of power dynamics...

Circular Collaborations in Urban space: A tool-kit for scaling through engagement

A circular economy is a means to an end of achieving a sustainable world, a lot of traction has been gained in the recent years into the concept of a circular economy and many new products and business models have been created around the concept. But most of the exploration of the concept lies in the possibilities of new product and market...