ABSTRACT
The chapter introduces the remaining chapters of Part I, by defining and analysing the basic concepts and ideas of systems science. It discusses the main principles used in the systems approach and the specifics of systems thinking. It presents a general model of the system, analysing both its structural and behavioural aspects, and proposes a division of systems into four types (passive, reactive, responsive, and active) according to their response to input and their relation to a given goal. The following section defines the model of a system and its main attributes based on Ackoff's concept of a "system of system concepts" and on this basis proposes a description of cyber-physical systems. It analyses Stafford Beer's concept of animate systems and his Viable System Model as a starting point for defining cognitive social systems, and discusses three basic measures of the system efficiency, namely, actuality, capability, and potentiality, and the relationships between these measures. The final section of the chapter defines the basic characteristics of the system performance, namely, performance, productivity, and latency, and points out possible structural, functional, and information pathologies occurring in the system.
