The European Conference on Complex Systems, held under the patronage of the Complex Systems Society, is an annual event that has become the leading European conference devoted to complexity science. ECCS'12, its ninth edition, took place in Brussels, during the first week of September 2012. It gathered about 650 scholars representing a wide range of topics relating to complex systems research, with emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches. More specifically, the following tracks were covered: 1. Foundations of Complex Systems 2. Complexity, Information and Computation 3. Prediction, Policy and Planning, Environment 4. Biological Complexity 5. Interacting Populations, Collective Behavior 6. Social Systems, Economics and Finance This book contains a selection of the contributions presented at the conference and its satellite meetings. Its contents reflect the extent, diversity and richness of research areas in the field, both fundamental and applied.

This book contains all refereed papers that were accepted to the third edition of the « Complex Systems Design & Management » (CSD&M 2012) international conference that took place in Paris (France) from December 12-14, 2012. (Website: http://www.csdm2012.csdm.fr) These proceedings cover the most recent trends in the emerging field of complex systems sciences & practices from an industrial and academic perspective, including the main industrial domains (transport, defense & security, electronics, energy & environment, e-services), scientific & technical topics (systems fundamentals, systems architecture& engineering, systems metrics & quality, systemic tools) and system types (transportation systems, embedded systems, software & information systems, systems of systems, artificial ecosystems). The CSD&M 2012 conference is organized under the guidance of the CESAMES non-profit organization (http://www.cesames.net).

Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on Research Methods in Bolton, UK, on 28-29 June 2011

Nonviolent Political Economy offers a set of theoretical solutions and practical guidelines to build an economy of nonviolence which implies a social state of peacefulness, involving minimal violence and minimal destruction of nature. The book provides renewed reflections on heterodox economics, ecological economics, anthropology, Buddhism, Gandhianism, disarmament, and business ethics, as well as innovative initiatives such as Blue Frontiers. It also sets out feasible solutions to rebuild countries that have suffered prolonged conflicts such as Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan. Bringing together authors from around the world, this collection includes new perspectives on the abolition of profit; disarmament; obliteration of the consumer society; expansion of collective property; Buddhist and Gandhian economies; small-scale and artisanal production, the increasing use of clean energies; a gradual reduction in the human population; political processes closer to direct and radical democracy, and anarchy. Discussing cutting-edge developments, this book provides valuable tools to build alternatives to the prevailing models of (violent) political economy. It will be of great interest to a public of critical citizens, students and researchers from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, and all those seeking to understand the fundamental concepts of nonviolent political economy.

This book gives a wide-ranging description of the many facets of complex dynamic networks and systems within an infrastructure provided by integrated control and supervision: envisioning, design, experimental exploration, and implementation. The theoretical contributions and the case studies presented can reach control goals beyond those of stabilization and output regulation or even of adaptive control. Reporting on work of the Control of Complex Systems (COSY) research program, Complex Systems follows from and expands upon an earlier collection: Control of Complex Systems by introducing novel theoretical techniques for hard-to-control networks and systems. The major common feature of all the superficially diverse contributions encompassed by this book is that of spotting and exploiting possible areas of mutual reinforcement between control, computing and communications. These help readers to achieve not only robust stable plant system operation but also properties such as collective adaptivity, integrity and survivability at the same time retaining desired performance quality. Applications in the individual chapters are drawn from: • the general implementation of model-based diagnosis and systems engineering in medical technology, in communication, and in power and airport networks; • the creation of biologically inspired control brains and safety-critical human–machine systems, • process-industrial uses; • biped robots; • large space structures and unmanned aerial vehicles; and • precision servomechanisms and other advanced technologies. Complex Systems provides researchers from engineering, applied mathematics and computer science backgrounds with innovative theoretical and practical insights into the state-of-the-art of complex networks and systems research. It employs physical implementations and extensive computer simulations. Graduate students specializing in complex-systems research will also learn much from this collection./pp

As population growth accelerates, researchers and professionals face challenges as they attempt to plan for the future. Urban planning is a significant component in addressing the key concerns as the world population moves towards the city and leaves the rural environment behind, yet there are many factors to consider for a well rounded community. The Handbook of Research on Social, Economic, and Environmental Sustainability in the Development of Smart Cities brings together the necessary research and interdisciplinary discussion to address dilemmas created by population growth and the expansion of urban environments. This publication is an essential reference source for researchers, academicians, investors, and practitioners interested in the urban planning and technological advancements necessary for the creation of smart cities.