Constructal Theory of Social Dynamics

by Bejan, Adrian; Merkx, Gilbert W.

• ISBN13: 9780387476803
• ISBN10: 0387476806
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-07-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Constructal Theory of Social Dynamics brings together for the first time social scientists and engineers who present predictive theory of social organization, as a conglomerate of mating flows that morph in time to flow more easily. The book offers a new way to look at social phenomena as part of natural phenomena, and examines a new domain of application of engineering such as thermodynamic optimization, thermoeconomics and "design as science".

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
The Constructal Law in Nature and Society	p. 1
The Constructal Law	p. 1
The Urge to Organize Is an Expression of Selfish Behavior	p. 5
The Distribution of Human Settlements	p. 13
Human Constructions and Flow Fossils in General	p. 17
Animal Movement	p. 22
Flying	p. 24
Running	p. 25
Swimming	p. 26
Patterned Movement and Turbulent Flow Structure	p. 29
Science as a Constructal Flow Architecture	p. 31
References	p. 32
Constructal Models in Social Processes	p. 35
Introduction	p. 35
Natural Versus Social Phenomena: An Important Distinction?	p. 36
Case Studies: Two Social Networks	p. 38
The Argentine Railway Network: 1870-1914	p. 38
Mexican Migration to the United States, 1980-2006	p. 45
Conclusions	p. 48
References	p. 50
Tree Flow Networks in Urban Design	p. 51
Introduction	p. 51
How to Distribute Hot Water over an Area	p. 51
Tree Network Generated by Repetitive Pairing	p. 55
Robustness and Complexity	p. 59
Development of Configuration by Adding New Users to Existing Networks	p. 60
Social Determinism and Constructal Theory	p. 68
References	p. 70
Natural Flow Patterns and Structured People Dynamics: A Constructal View	p. 71
Introduction	p. 71
Patterns in Natural Flows: The River Basins Case	p. 71
Scaling Laws of River Basins	p. 72
Patterns of Global Circulations	p. 74
Flows of People	p. 76
Optimal Flow Tree	p. 77
Fossils of Flows of People	p. 79
Conclusions	p. 82
References	p. 82
Constructal Pattern Formation in Nature, Pedestrian Motion, and Epidemics Propagation	p. 85
Introduction	p. 85
Constructal Law and the Generation of Configuration	p. 86
Constructal Pattern Formation in Nature	p. 87
Formation of Dissimilar Patterns Inside Flow Systems	p. 87
The Shapes of Stony Coral Colonies and Plant Roots	p. 89
Constructal Patterns Formation in Pedestrian Motion	p. 92
Pedestrian Dynamics: Observation and Models	p. 92
Diffusion and Channeling in Pedestrian Motion	p. 95
Crowd Density and Pedestrian Flow	p. 98
Optimizing Pedestrian Facilities by Minimizing Residence Time	p. 103
The Optimal Gates Geometry	p. 103
Optimal Architecture for Different Locomotion Velocities	p. 104
The Optimal Queuing Flow	p. 106
Constructal View of Self-organized Pedestrian Movement	p. 108
Population Motion and Spread of Epidemics	p. 109
Modeling the Spreading of an Epidemic	p. 110
Geotemporal Dynamics of Epidemics	p. 112
References	p. 114
The Constructal Nature of the Air Traffic System	p. 119
Introduction	p. 119
The Constructal Law of Maximum Flow Access	p. 120
Foundations of Constructal Theory	p. 120
The Volume-to-Point Flow Problem	p. 122
Relevant Results for Aeronautics	p. 124
Aircraft Design	p. 124
Meteorological Models	p. 126
Application to the Air Traffic System	p. 127
Air traffic flow	p. 127
The Constructal Law and the Generation of Benford Distribution in ATFM	p. 130
Spatial Patterns of Airport Flows	p. 133
Temporal Patterns of Airport Flows	p. 137
Aircraft Fleets	p. 139
Conclusions	p. 142
References	p. 143
Sociological Theory, Constructal Theory, and Globalization	p. 147
Introduction	p. 147
Physics and Engineering in Previous Sociology	p. 148
Theorizing the Global	p. 154
Globalization	p. 155
References	p. 159
Is Animal Learning Optimal?	p. 161
Reinforcement Learning	p. 161
Instinctive Drift: Do Animals "Know" What to Do?	p. 162
Interval Timing: Why Wait?	p. 162
Ratio Schedules	p. 163
Interval Schedules	p. 164
What are the Alternatives to Optimality?	p. 166
References	p. 167
Conflict and Conciliation Dynamics	p. 169
The Natural and the Social Sciences	p. 169
Conflict and Conciliation Dynamics (CCD)	p. 172
CCD Flow Chart Representation of a Conflict and Peace Process	p. 174
Oslo Agreement Game (1993)	p. 177
Coalition Game	p. 178
Militant Game A	p. 178
Militant Game B	p. 179
Empirical Checks and Discussion	p. 179
Conclusions	p. 181
References	p. 182
Human Aging and Mortality	p. 183
Introduction	p. 183
The Random Walk Model	p. 184
The Fokker-Planck Diffusion Equation	p. 184
The State-Space and Quadratic Mortality Equations	p. 186
Findings from Empirical Applications	p. 188
Extensions of the Random Walk Model	p. 192
Conclusions	p. 194
References	p. 195
Statistical Mechanical Models for Social Systems	p. 197
Summary	p. 197
Introduction	p. 197
Precursors Within Social Network Analysis	p. 198
Notation	p. 199
Generalized Location Systems	p. 200
Modeling Location Systems	p. 201
A Family of Social Potentials	p. 202
Thermodynamic Properties of the Location System Model	p. 206
Simulation	p. 207
The Location System Model as a Constrained Optimization Process	p. 208
Illustrative Applications	p. 209
Job Segregation, Discrimination, and Inequality	p. 209
Settlement Patterns and Residential Segregation	p. 215
Conclusions	p. 221
References	p. 221
Discrete Exponential Family Models for Ethnic Residential Segregation	p. 225
Introduction	p. 225
Potential Determinants of Ethnic Residential Segregation	p. 226
Research Methodology	p. 229
Simulation Results	p. 232
Conclusion	p. 244
References	p. 244
Corporate Interlock	p. 247
Abstract	p. 247
Introduction	p. 247
Corporate Interlocks	p. 249
Data	p. 252
Methodology	p. 252
Analysis	p. 253
Conclusion	p. 261
References	p. 261
Constructal Approach to Company Sustainability	p. 263
Introduction	p. 263
Sustainability and Its Evaluation	p. 264
The Constructal Law of Maximum Flow Access	p. 267
Application to Complex Structures: Design of Platform of Customizable Products	p. 268
The Structural Theory of Thermoeconomics	p. 269
Application to Company Sustainability	p. 272
The Stakeholder Approach	p. 272
The Analytical Tree	p. 274
The Objectives of Research	p. 274
Conclusions	p. 276
References	p. 277
The Inequality Process is an Evoluationary Process	p. 279
Summary	p. 279
Introduction: Competition for Energy, Fuel, Food, and Wealth	p. 279
The Inequality Process (IP) as an Evolutionary Optimizer	p. 281
Mathematical Description of the IP	p. 282
The Gamma PDF Approximation to the IP's Stationary Distribution in the ¿¿ Equivalence Class	p. 284
The Exact Solution	p. 284
An Approximation to the Exact Solution	p. 285
The IP, an Evolutionary Process	p. 287
The Empirical Evidence That Robust Losers Are the More Productive Particles	p. 290
Conclusions	p. 293
References	p. 294
Constructal Theory of Written Language	p. 297
Introduction	p. 297
Written Language	p. 297
What Is a Written Language?	p. 297
How Does Constructal Theory Apply?	p. 298
Origins of Written Language	p. 299
First Pairing Level	p. 300
Creation of First Pairing Level	p. 300
Evolution of First Pairing Level	p. 303
Egyptian	p. 304
Second Pairing Level	p. 307
Creation of Second Pairing Level	p. 307
English	p. 308
Chinese	p. 308
Evolution of Second Pairing Level	p. 312
Chinese	p. 312
Conclusions	p. 313
References	p. 314
Life and Cognition	p. 315
What is Life?	p. 315
Psyche, the "Higher" Cognition	p. 316
From Aristotle's Hylemorphism to the Rationalization of Probabilities	p. 317
The Cognitive Implication	p. 320
Empirism Probabilis and Vis Formandi	p. 321
Nature as Matter, Unique-ness and Kaos	p. 322
The Impossible Emergence of the Emergence	p. 322
Matter as Unique-ness	p. 323
Matter as Kaos	p. 323
Consequences	p. 324
The Intentional and Non-intentional Beings	p. 324
The Descent of Darwin, and Selection in Relation to Ideology	p. 326
Historicity, Instinct, Intelligence, and Consciousness	p. 328
History Versus Historicity, Continuous Versus Discreet	p. 328
The Psyche	p. 329
Nature and Cognitive Computer Science	p. 330
Neural Networks Versus Constructal Architectures	p. 331
Cellular Automata and the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction	p. 334
RD-Computation or Simulation of the Individuation?	p. 335
Constructal Law, in Depth	p. 337
The Geometric Vitalism of the Constructal Theory	p. 337
The Constructal Law Definition	p. 337
A Never-Ending Story	p. 338
References	p. 340
Index	p. 345
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