Scalability of Knowledge Transfer in Complex Systems of Emergent “living” Communities

Susu Nousala

Communities are emergent, holistic living systems. Understanding the impact of social complex systems through spatial interactions via the lens of scalability requires the development of new methodological behavioural approaches. The evolution of social complex systems of cities and their regions can be investigated through the evolution of spatial structures. The clustering of entities within cities, regions and beyond presents behavioural elements for which methodological approaches need to be considered.

The emergent aspect of complex entities by their very nature requires an understanding that can embrace unpredictability through emergence. Qualitative methodological approaches can be holistic with the ability to embrace bottom up and top down methods for analysis. Social complex systems develop structures by connecting “like minded” behaviour through scalability. How “mobile” these interactions are, is a concept that can be understood via “inter-organizational” and “interstructural” comparative approaches. How do we indeed convey this adequately or appropriately?

Just as a geographical area may contain characteristics that can help to support the formation of an emergent industry cluster, similar behaviours occur through emergent characteristics of complex systems that underpin the sustainability of an organization. The idea that complex systems have tacit structures, capable of displaying emergent behaviour, is not a common concept. These tacit structures can in turn, impact the structural sustainability of physical entities. More often than not, there is a focus on how these concepts of complex systems work, but the “why” questions depends upon scalability. Until recently, social complex adaptive systems were largely over looked due to the tacit nature of these network structures.

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