DEVIANCE

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Charles François (2004). DEVIANCE. International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 904.

Collection	International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics
Year	2004
Vol. (num.)	2(1)
ID	◀ 904 ▶
Object type	General information, Methodology or model

The slow drift of a system away from its basic functional conditions.

Such a drift may lead the system toward an instability threshold. This in turn may become a positive or a negative factor.

It is positive when it corresponds to a more or less automatic capacity of adaptation to change, as for example physiological adaptation to high altitude.

It is negative when it implies the appearance of useless or nocive constraints, as for example excessive bureaucracy in a society.