MODELS (Functions and uses of)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2178 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
B. WALLISER (1977, p.179-80) distinguishes the four following functions and uses of systems models:
- cognitive: The model is used to understand the interrelations between the system's input and output variables;
- decisional: The model is used to investigate how the output variables should be defined, taking in account the probable evolution of the environmental variables;
- normative: The model is used to define and state the required relations between input and output variables of the system;
- predictive: The model is used to forecast the evolution of the system's input and output variables in relation to the probable evolution of the environmental variables and to the defined command variables.
These statements seem somewhat restrictive. Models can also be used to describe and investigate other characteristics of the systems, as for instance limits of dynamic stability, growth regimes and their limits, internal constraints and adaptations, etc… provided for the use in the process of model construction of more recent systemic concepts, as chaos, catastrophes, fractals, etc…
Such research could be beneficial for the different uses described by WALLISER.