System (from Latin ''systēma'', in turn from Greek '''' systēma, "whole compounded of several parts or members, system", literary "composition") is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole.

A system is a set of elements and relationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets.

Fields that study the general properties of systems include systems theory, cybernetics, dynamical systems, thermodynamics and complex systems. They investigate the abstract properties of systems' matter and organization, looking for concepts and principles that are independent of domain, substance, type, or temporal scale.

Most systems share common characteristics, including:

Systems have structure, defined by components and their composition;

Systems have behavior, which involves inputs, processing and outputs of material, energy, information, or data;

Systems have interconnectivity: the various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships to each other.

Systems may have some functions or groups of functions

The term ''system'' may also refer to a set of rules that governs structure and/or behavior.

History

The word ''system'' in its meaning here, has a long history which can be traced back to Plato (''Philebus''), Aristotle (''Politics'') and Euclid (''Elements''). It had meant "total", "crowd" or "union" in even more ancient times, as it derives from the verb ''sunìstemi'', uniting, putting together.

In the 19th century the first to develop the concept of a "system" in the natural sciences was the French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot who studied thermodynamics. In 1824 he studied the system which he called the ''working substance'', i.e. typically a body of water vapor, in steam engines, in regards to the system's ability to do work when heat is applied to it. The working substance could be put in contact with either a boiler, a cold reservoir (a stream of cold water), or a piston (to which the working body could do work by pushing on it). In 1850, the German physicist Rudolf Clausius generalized this picture to include the concept of the surroundings and began to use the term "working body" when referring to the system.

One of the pioneers of the general systems theory was the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy. In 1945 he introduced ''models, principles, and laws that apply to generalized systems or their subclasses, irrespective of their particular kind, the nature of their component elements, and the relation or 'forces' between them.''

Significant development to the concept of a ''system'' was done by Norbert Wiener and Ross Ashby who pioneered the use of mathematics to study systems.

In the 1980s the term complex adaptive system was coined at the interdisciplinary Santa Fe Institute by John H. Holland, Murray Gell-Mann and others.

System concepts

;Environment and boundaries :Systems theory views the world as a complex system of interconnected parts. We scope a system by defining its boundary; this means choosing which entities are inside the system and which are outside - part of the environment. We then make simplified representations (models) of the system in order to understand it and to predict or impact its future behavior. These models may define the structure and/or the behavior of the system.

;Natural and man-made systems :There are natural and man-made (designed) systems. Natural systems may not have an apparent objective but their outputs can be interpreted as purposes. Man-made systems are made with purposes that are achieved by the delivery of outputs. Their parts must be related; they must be “designed to work as a coherent entity” - else they would be two or more distinct systems.

;Theoretical Framework :An open system exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings. Most systems are open systems; like a car, coffeemaker, or computer. A closed system exchanges energy, but not matter, with its environment; like Earth or the project Biosphere2 or 3. An isolated system exchanges neither matter nor energy with its environment. A theoretical example of such system is the Universe.

;Process and transformation process :A system can also be viewed as a bounded transformation process, that is, a process or collection of processes that transforms inputs into outputs. Inputs are consumed; outputs are produced. The concept of input and output here is very broad. E.g., an output of a passenger ship is the movement of people from departure to destination.

;Subsystem :A ''subsystem'' is a set of elements, which is a system itself, and a component of a larger system.

;System Model :A system comprises multiple views. For the man-made systems it may be such views as planning, requirement (analysis), design, implementation, deployment, structure, behavior, input data, and output data views. A system model is required to describe and represent all these multiple views.

;System Architecture :A system architecture, using one single integrated model for the description of multiple views such as planning, requirement (analysis), design, implementation, deployment, structure, behavior, input data, and output data views, is a kind of system model.

Elements of System

Following are considered as the elements of a system in terms of Information systems: -

# Inputs and Outputs # Processor # Control # Environment # Feedback # Boundaries and Interface

Types of systems

Systems are classified in different ways: # Physical or Abstract systems # Open or Closed systems # 'Man-made' Information systems # Formal Information systems # Informal Information systems # Computer Based Information systems

Physical systems are tangible entities that may be static or dynamic in operation. For Example, the physical parts of the computer center are the offices , desk and chairs that facilitate operation of the computer. They can be seen and counted as they are static. In contrast, a programmed computer is a dynamic demands or the priority of the information requested changes. Abstract systems are conceptual or non physical entities.

An open system has many interfaces with its environment. i.e. system that interacts freely with its environment, taking input and returning output. It permits interaction across its boundary; it receives inputs from and delivers outputs to the outside. A closed system does not interact with the environment; changes in the environment and adaptability are not issues for closed system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------A$- Evidently, there are many types of systems that can be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, with an analysis of urban systems dynamics, [A.W. Steiss] defines five intersecting systems, including the physical subsystem and behavioral system. For sociological models influenced by systems theory, where Kenneth D. Bailey defines systems in terms of conceptual, concrete and abstract systems; either isolated, closed, or open, Walter F. Buckley defines social systems in sociology in terms of mechanical, organic, and process models. Bela H. Banathy cautions that with any inquiry into a system that understanding the type of system is crucial and defines Natural and Designed systems.

In offering these more global definitions, the author maintains that it is important not to confuse one for the other. The theorist explains that natural systems include sub-atomic systems, living systems, the solar system, the galactic system and the Universe. Designed systems are our creations, our physical structures, hybrid systems which include natural and designed systems, and our conceptual knowledge. The human element of organization and activities are emphasized with their relevant abstract systems and representations. A key consideration in making distinctions among various types of systems is to determine how much freedom the system has to select purpose, goals, methods, tools, etc. and how widely is the freedom to select itself distributed (or concentrated) in the system.

George J. Klir maintains that no "classification is complete and perfect for all purposes," and defines systems in terms of abstract, real, and conceptual physical systems, bounded and unbounded systems, discrete to continuous, pulse to hybrid systems, et cetera. The interaction between systems and their environments are categorized in terms of relatively closed, and open systems. It seems most unlikely that an absolutely closed system can exist or, if it did, that it could be known by us. Important distinctions have also been made between hard and soft systems. Hard systems are associated with areas such as systems engineering, operations research and quantitative systems analysis. Soft systems are commonly associated with concepts developed by Peter Checkland and Brian Wilson through Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) involving methods such as action research and emphasizing participatory designs. Where hard systems might be identified as more "scientific," the distinction between them is actually often hard to define.

Cultural system

A cultural system may be defined as the interaction of different elements of culture. While a cultural system is quite different from a social system, sometimes both systems together are referred to as the sociocultural system. A major concern in the social sciences is the problem of order. One way that social order has been theorized is according to the degree of integration of cultural and social factors.

Economic system

An economic system is a mechanism (social institution) which deals with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a particular society. The economic system is composed of people, institutions and their relationships to resources, such as the convention of property. It addresses the problems of economics, like the allocation and scarcity of resources.

Application of the system concept

Systems modeling is generally a basic principle in engineering and in social sciences. The system is the representation of the entities under concern. Hence inclusion to or exclusion from system context is dependent of the intention of the modeler.

No model of a system will include all features of the real system of concern, and no model of a system must include all entities belonging to a real system of concern.

Systems in information and computer science

In computer science and information science, system is a software system which has components as its structure and observable Inter-process communications as its behavior. Again, an example will illustrate: There are systems of counting, as with Roman numerals, and various systems for filing papers, or catalogues, and various library systems, of which the Dewey Decimal System is an example. This still fits with the definition of components which are connected together (in this case in order to facilitate the flow of information).

System can also be used referring to a framework, be it software or hardware, designed to allow software programs to run, see platform.

Systems in engineering and physics

In engineering and physics, a physical system is the portion of the universe that is being studied (of which a thermodynamic system is one major example). Engineering also has the concept of a system that refers to all of the parts and interactions between parts of a complex project. Systems engineering refers to the branch of engineering that studies how this type of system should be planned, designed, implemented, built, and maintained.

Systems in social and cognitive sciences and management research

Social and cognitive sciences recognize systems in human person models and in human societies. They include human brain functions and human mental processes as well as normative ethics systems and social/cultural behavioral patterns.

In management science, operations research and organizational development (OD), human organizations are viewed as systems (conceptual systems) of interacting components such as subsystems or system aggregates, which are carriers of numerous complex business processes (organizational behaviors) and organizational structures. Organizational development theorist Peter Senge developed the notion of organizations as systems in his book ''The Fifth Discipline''.

Systems thinking is a style of thinking/reasoning and problem solving. It starts from the recognition of system properties in a given problem. It can be a leadership competency. Some people can ''think globally while acting locally''. Such people consider the potential consequences of their decisions on other parts of larger systems. This is also a basis of systemic coaching in psychology.

Organizational theorists such as Margaret Wheatley have also described the workings of organizational systems in new metaphoric contexts, such as quantum physics, chaos theory, and the self-organization of systems.

Systems applied to strategic thinking

In 1988, military strategist, John A. Warden III introduced his Five Ring System model in his book, ''The Air Campaign'' contending that any complex system could be broken down into five concentric rings. Each ring—Leadership, Processes, Infrastructure, Population and Action Units—could be used to isolate key elements of any system that needed change. The model was used effectively by Air Force planners in the First Gulf War. In the late 1990s, Warden applied this five ring model to business strategy.

See also

;Examples of systems

List of systems (WikiProject)

physical system

conceptual system

Complex system

Formal system

Information system

Meta-system

Solar System

Systems in human anatomy

Market

;Theories about systems

Chaos theory

Cybernetics

Systems ecology

Systems engineering

Systems psychology

Systems theory

Thermodynamic systems

;Related topics

Glossary of systems theory

Complexity theory and organizations

Network (disambiguation)

System of systems (engineering)

Systems art

References

Further reading

Alexander Backlund (2000). "The definition of system". In: ''Kybernetes'' Vol. 29 nr. 4, pp. 444–451.

Kenneth D. Bailey (1994). ''Sociology and the New Systems Theory: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis''. New York: State of New York Press.

Bela H. Banathy (1997). "A Taste of Systemics", ISSS The Primer Project.

Walter F. Buckley (1967). '' Sociology and Modern Systems Theory'', New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs.

Peter Checkland (1997). ''Systems Thinking, Systems Practice''. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Robert L. Flood (1999). ''Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning within the unknowable''. London: Routledge.

George J. Klir (1969). Approach to General Systems Theory, 1969.

Brian Wilson (1980). ''Systems: Concepts, methodologies and Applications'', John Wiley

Brian Wilson (2001). ''Soft Systems Methodology—Conceptual model building and its contribution'', J.H.Wiley.

Beynon-Davies P. (2009). ''Business Information + Systems''. Palgrave, Basingstoke. ISBN 978-0-230-20368-6

External links

''Definitions of Systems and Models'' by Michael Pidwirny, 1999-2007.

''Definitionen von "System" (1572-2002)'' by Roland Müller, 2001-2007 (most in German).

Theory and Practical Exercises of System Dynamics by Juan Martin (also in Spanish)

Category:Cybernetics Category:Systems theory Category:Systems science Category:Greek loanwords

ar:نظام az:Sistem be:Сістэма bar:System bs:Sistem bg:Система ca:Sistema cs:Systém da:System de:System et:Süsteem el:Σύστημα es:Sistema eo:Sistemo eu:Sistema fa:سامانه fr:Système gl:Sistema ko:계 (물리학) kk:Жүйе hi:तंत्र (सिस्टम) hr:Sustav io:Sistemo id:Sistem is:Kerfi it:Sistema he:מערכת ka:სისტემა ku:Pergall la:Systema lv:Sistēma lt:Sistema hu:Rendszer mk:Систем nl:Systeem (wetenschap) ja:システム nn:System mhr:Радамлык pl:System pt:Sistema ru:Система sq:Sistemi simple:System sk:Systém (kybernetika) sl:Sistem ckb:سیستەم sr:Систем sh:Sistem fi:Järjestelmä (systeemiteoria) sv:System sn:Gumbapamwe tl:Paraan ta:ஒருங்கியம் tr:Sistem uk:Система vi:Hệ thống yi:סיסטעם zh:系統

jr/sr	United States Senator
state	New Mexico
party	Republican
term start	January 3, 1977
term end	January 3, 1983
preceded	Joseph Montoya
succeeded	Jeff Bingaman
birth date	July 03, 1935
birth place	Santa Rita, New Mexico
religion	}}

Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, a former NASA astronaut, University Professor and a U.S. Senator for one term.

He is the twelfth and last of the Apollo astronauts to ''arrive and set foot'' on the Moon, as crewmate Eugene Cernan exited the Apollo Lunar Module first. However, as Schmitt re-entered the module first, Cernan became the last astronaut ''to walk on and depart'' the moon. Schmitt is also the only geologist as well as the only person to have walked on the Moon who was never a member of the United States Armed Forces, although he is not the first civilian, since Neil Armstrong left military service prior to his landing in 1969.

Early life and education

Born in Santa Rita, New Mexico, Schmitt grew up in nearby Silver City. He received a B.S. degree in geology from the California Institute of Technology in 1957 and then spent a year for graduate studying geology at the University of Oslo in Norway. He received a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964, based on his geological field studies in Norway.

NASA career

name	Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt
type	NASA Astronaut
status	Retired
nationality	American
birth date	July 03, 1935
birth place	Santa Rita, New Mexico
occupation	Geologist
selection	1965 Scientist group
time	12d 13h 52 m
mission	Apollo 17
insignia	}}

Before joining NASA as a member of the first group of scientist-astronauts in June 1965, he worked at the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center at Flagstaff, Arizona, developing geological field techniques that would be used by the Apollo crews. Following his selection, Schmitt spent his first year at Air Force UPT learning to become a jet pilot. Upon his return to the astronaut corps in Houston, he played a key role in training Apollo crews to be geologic observers when they were in lunar orbit and competent geologic field workers when they were on the lunar surface. After each of the landing missions, he participated in the examination and evaluation of the returned lunar samples and helped the crews with the scientific aspects of their mission reports.

Schmitt spent considerable time becoming proficient in the CSM and LM systems. In March 1970 he became the first of the scientist-astronauts to receive an assignment to either a backup or primary crew. He joined Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (Commander) and Vance Brand (Command Module Pilot) on the backup crew for Apollo 15 and was clearly in line to fly as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 18. After the cancellation of the Apollo 18 moon mission in September 1970, it was widely expected that he would be assigned to fly on Apollo 17, the last lunar mission. That assignment was announced in August 1971. (Schmitt effectively replaced Joe Engle who had been in training with commander Gene Cernan as his Lunar Module Pilot.)

During Apollo 17's flight to the Moon in December 1972, Schmitt is believed to have taken the photograph of the Earth known as The Blue Marble, one of the most widely distributed photographic images in existence. (NASA officially credits the image to the entire Apollo 17 crew; Schmitt claims that he personally took the image.)

While on the Moon's surface, Schmitt — the only geologist in the astronaut corps — collected the rock sample designated Troctolite 76535, which has been called "without doubt the most interesting sample returned from the Moon". Among other distinctions, it is the central piece of evidence suggesting that the Moon once possessed an active magnetic field.

As he returned to the Lunar Module before his crewmate Gene Cernan, Schmitt is the next-to-last person to have set foot on the moon's surface.

After the completion of Apollo 17, Schmitt played an active role in documenting the Apollo geologic results and also took on the task of organizing NASA's Energy Program Office.

Post-NASA career

In August 1975, Schmitt resigned from NASA to seek election as a Republican to the United States Senate representing New Mexico. Schmitt faced two-term Democratic incumbent, Joseph Montoya, whom he defeated 57% to 42%. He served one term and, notably, was the ranking Republican member of the Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee. He sought a second term in 1982, but due to a deep recession and concerns that he wasn't paying attention to local matters, he was defeated in a re-election bid by the state Attorney General Jeff Bingaman by a 54% to 46% margin. Bingaman's campaign slogan asked, "What on Earth has he done for you lately?". Following his Senate term, Schmitt has been a consultant in business, geology, space, and public policy.

During his term in the senate, Schmitt sat at the Candy desk.

Schmitt is an adjunct professor of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and has long been a proponent of lunar resource utilization. In 1997 he proposed the Interlune InterMars Initiative, listing among its goals the advancement of private sector acquisition and use of lunar resources, particularly lunar helium-3 as a fuel for notional nuclear fusion reactors.

The idea of generating significant power from helium 3 obtained from the moon is regarded as wildly impractical.

Schmitt was chair of the NASA Advisory Council, whose mandate is to provide technical advice to the NASA Administrator, from November 2005 until his abrupt resignation on October 16, 2008. In November 2008, he quit the Planetary Society over policy advocacy differences, citing the organization's statements on "focusing on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight" (Schmitt said that going back to the Moon would speed progress toward a manned Mars mission), on "accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations" (Schmitt voiced objections to the notion of a present "scientific consensus" on climate change as any policy guide), and on international cooperation (which he felt would retard rather than accelerate progress), among other points of divergence.

Regarding the international scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change, Schmitt has said that "[t]he CO2 scare is a red herring", that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making," and that scientists who might otherwise challenge prevailing views on climate change dare not do so for fear of losing funding.

Likewise, in a 2009 interview with conservative talk-radio host Alex Jones, Schmitt asserted a link between Soviet Communism and the American environmental movement: "I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement."

In January, 2011, he was appointed as Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources in the Cabinet of Governor Susana Martinez.

Harrison Schmitt wrote a book entitled "Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space" in 2006.

He lives in Silver City, New Mexico, and spends some of his summer at his northern Minnesota lake cabin.

Schmitt in popular culture

Schmitt was portrayed by Tom Amandes in the 1998 miniseries ''From the Earth to the Moon''.

Schmitt was mentioned in Maid in Arlen, an episode of ''King of the Hill''.

Schmitt was interviewed on ''Infowars'', the Alex Jones radio show, on July 31, 2009, regarding his opposition to the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming. He admitted being a fan of the show, saying he "keeps up on things out here".

He appeared in an episode of the television show ''Bill Nye the Science Guy''.

He was interviewed in the 2009 BBC television show ''James May on the Moon''.

He was interviewed by Maltese television talk show ''Xarabank'', the episode airing December 11, 2009, 2045 CET.

Awards and honors

He was made an honorary fellow of the Geological Society of America for his efforts in geoscience in 1984. One of the elementary schools in Schmitt's hometown of Silver City, New Mexico was named in his honor in the mid-1970s. An image of the astronaut riding a rocket through space is displayed on the front of Harrison Schmitt Elementary School.

Media

Schmitt is one of the astronauts featured in the documentary ''In the Shadow of the Moon''. He also contributed to the book "NASA's Scientist-Astronauts" by David Shayler and Colin Burgess.

References

External links

UW prof recounts '72 trip to moon

Harrison Schmitt visits University of Malta in 2009 and Handaq School

{{U.S. Senator box | state= New Mexico | class= 1 | before= Joseph Montoya | after= Jeff Bingaman | alongside= Pete Domenici | years= 1977–1983}}

Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:1972 in spaceflight Category:American astronauts Category:American geologists Category:California Institute of Technology alumni Category:Environmental skepticism Category:Harvard University alumni Category:New Mexico Republicans Category:People from Grant County, New Mexico Category:Penrose Medal winners Category:People who have walked on the Moon Category:United States Senators from New Mexico Category:University of Oslo alumni Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees Category:Republican Party United States Senators Category:State cabinet secretaries of New Mexico

ar:هاريسون شميت bg:Харисън Шмит cs:Harrison Schmitt de:Harrison Hagan Schmitt et:Harrison Schmitt es:Harrison Schmitt fr:Harrison Schmitt id:Harrison Hagan Schmitt it:Harrison Schmitt he:האריסון שמיט mk:Харисон Шмит nl:Harrison Schmitt ja:ハリソン・シュミット no:Harrison Schmitt pl:Harrison Schmitt pt:Harrison Schmitt ro:Harrison Schmitt ru:Шмитт, Харрисон Хейган sk:Harrison Hagan Schmitt fi:Harrison Schmitt sv:Harrison Schmitt uk:Гаррісон Шмітт zh:哈里森·施密特

Kim Johnson is currently a back-up vocalist with Robin Thicke and Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley. She has also sang with the funk group Earth, Wind & Fire.

Kim Johnson grew up in Los Angeles and started out singing in church. She, along with her sisters, have worked with several gospel artists including Andrae Crouch and Shirley Caesar.

Before Earth, Wind & Fire, Kim was in a singing group with her sister Kandy Johnson (Isley) called JS. JS, which stands for the Johnson Sisters, released their debut album, produced by R. Kelly, entitled "Ice Cream" in 2003. The Johnson sisters have backed such artists as Michael Jackson, Sting, Christina Aguilera and the Isley Brothers. Singer Ronald Isley took them under his wing and become their manager and introduced them to R. Kelly, who wrote several songs for them.

References

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6091203/a/Ice+Cream.htm

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/bio/0,,660136,00.html

http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12043696

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2003/08/06/Entertainment/Soundbites-492982.shtml

Category:Living people Category:Backing vocalists