Offering an up-to-date account of systems theories and its applications, this book provides a different way of resolving problems and addressing challenges in a swift and practical way, without losing overview and not having a grip on the details. From this perspective, it offers a different way of thinking in order to incorporate different perspectives and to consider multiple aspects of any given problem. Drawing examples from a wide range of disciplines, it also presents worked cases to illustrate the principles. The multidisciplinary perspective and the formal approach to modelling of systems and processes of ‘Applied Systems Theory’ makes it suitable for managers, engineers, students, researchers, academics and professionals from a wide range of disciplines; they can use this ‘toolbox’ for describing, analysing and designing biological, engineering and organisational systems as well as getting a better understanding of societal problems.

Bio-inspired design (also called biomimetics or biomimicry) is a promising approach for the development of innovative technical products – not only in mechanical engineering, but also in areas such as material science and even computer engineering. Innovations such as humanoid robots or multifunctional materials have shown the potential of bio-inspired design. However, in industrial companies, bio-inspired design remains an “exotic” approach which is rarely used in innovation practice. One reason for this is a lack of knowledge on how to implement bio-inspired design in practice. Therefore, this guide book was written to explain the application of bio-inspired design methods and tools. The target groups are professional engineers and biologists, as well as students of both disciplines. The book presents a selection of methods for specific activities in bio-inspired design, namely: planning a bio-inspired design project, abstraction, search, analysis and comparison, and transfer of analogies. Factsheets give an overview of each method, its advantages and challenges, and its suitability for different bio-inspired design approaches and scenarios. To facilitate understanding, all methods are explained with the help of the same example. In addition, ten best practice examples show the practical applicability of bio-inspired design.

The Evolution of Designs tells the history of the many analogies that have been made, since the end of the eighteenth century, between the evolution of organisms and the human production of artefacts – especially buildings.

This book describes the new perspective of naturalistic decision making. The point of departure is how people make decisions in complex, time-pressured, ambiguous, and changing environments. The purpose of this book is to present and elaborate on past models developed to explain this type of decision making. The central philosophy of the book is that classical decision theory has been unproductive since it is so heavily grounded in economics and mathematics. The contributors believe there is little to be learned from laboratory studies about how people actually handle difficult and interesting tasks; therefore, the book presents a critique of classical decision theory. The models of naturalistic decision making described by the contributors were derived to explain the behavior of firefighters, business people, jurors, nuclear power plant operators, and command-and-control officers. The models are unique in that they address the way people use experience to frame situations and adopt courses of action. The models explain the strengths of skilled decision makers. Naturalistic decision research requires the examination of field settings, and a section of the book covers methods for conducting meaningful research outside the laboratory. In addition, since his approach has applied value, the book covers issues of training and decision support systems.