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Seeing Systems: A Conceptual Resource

Ned O'Gorman, Jessica Robinson, Paul McKean, Matt Pitchford, Mary Grace Hebert, Ned Prutzer, Sally Jackson, Jessica Landau, Jeffrey Proulx, Melissa Seifert, Natalie Lambert, Kristina Williams, Gabe Malo, elizaBeth Simpson, Fabian Prieto-Nanez, Nikki Weickum, Kevin Hamilton, Authors

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Structure

Structure is "the overall configuration of the interdependencies in a system" (Poole, XX). The type of interdependency leads to a specific type of structure so that some interdependencies may lead to communication systems, while interdependences of power might lead to hierarchical structures. Structure can refer to the way that a system is built or organized, but system structure can also refer to how the components in a system and the relationships between them function and change over time.

There can also be structures within a system, and the behavior of these structures accomplishes specific tasks that affect the entire system. For example, a reinforcing feedback loop is a structure that lead to exponential growth of some stock within a system (Meadows, 2008).


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