Biological information processing: the use of information for the support of function

In biological systems, the processing and use of information has evolved out of the need for survival in the face of an uncertain environment. As a consequence, the information-function relationship in these systems is shaped by their adaptability characteristics. In contrast, the information-function relationship in man-designed, goal-oriented organizational systems depends on the ability of the information processing system to support the achievement of the organization's goals. In this paper we use results from adaptability theory in the analysis of control-related aspects of the information-function relationship in man-designed organizational systems. In particular, we use a conceptual model of organizational control to characterize features of functional and control structures and their effect on the adaptability of these systems. The concept of implicit control and a design principle for adaptability-enhancing information systems are derived for this analysis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28155/1/0000607.pd

The analysis of distributed control and information processing in adaptive systems: a biologically motivated approach

Biological systems have evolved hierarchical, distributed control structures that greatly enhance their adaptability. Two important determinants of biological adaptability considered here are: (i) the pattern of distribution of self-control capabilities; (ii) the degree of programmability of information processing. In this paper we model organizations as goal-oriented, adaptive systems, possessing properties similar to those of biological systems. We use the notion of implicit control (defined as the capability of self-control that is embedded in a system's own dynamics) in the analysis of the impact of specific patterns of distribution of control and information processing on the adaptability of organizations. A principle of design of organizational information systems, that captures important aspects of adaptability-preserving strategies of information processing in biological systems, is stated in terms of the implicit control concept.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30310/1/0000712.pd

A synthetic approach to the design of information-systems software

This paper presents an approach to the design of information-systems software in which alternative designs can be created, as necessary, until specified requirements are met and specific objectives achieved. This approach takes advantage of, and in fact complements, the abstraction process that characterizes the abstraction-synthesis methodology of information-systems development. A broad concept of function support, as provided by the information system, and a design-independent specification of information-systems requirements, are basic features of this methodology. The view of design presented here takes advantage of these features by providing the necessary flexibility. Design itself is viewed as a search on the space of possible software-system structures until one which satisfies the requirements of the information system and achieves the project's objectives is found. The design space is defined on four dimensions that correspond to important layers of information-system software implementation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27855/1/0000266.pd

THE INFORMATION PROCESSING ASPECT OF THE DYNAMICS OF A SYSTEM AS A BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS COMPUTER-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS

ABSTRACT All dynamic systems need to process information in order to function. This means that there is an information processing aspect to the dynamics of any system (Kampfner, 1998) that in fact embodies the way in which it processes information. Complex, adaptive systems such as modern organizations include natural and artificial means of information processing as part of their dynamics. Although the natural and the artificial forms of information processing are fundamentally different, they are also highly complementary of each other. One claim of this paper is that a synergistic combination of natural and artificial computing is essential to the ability of modern organizations to successfully perform their functions and persist in the face of an uncertain environment. I also argue that considering information processing as an aspect of dynamics is essential to finding the synergistic combination of natural and artificial computing that is needed for the effective support of function and adaptability in modern organizations. The development of computer-based information systems can be thought of as a means of integrating computer-based information processing into the dynamics of modern organizations. The abstraction-synthesis methodology of information systems development, or ASM, (Kampfner, 1987, 1997) provides a conceptual framework for this integration. In the ASM, the information needs of the functions that the computer-based information system will support are determined on the basis of the information processing aspect of its dynamics. This is followed by the design and development of the computer-based processes that will help to meet these information needs in a manner consistent with the adaptability of the system as a whole. The synergy of the combination of natural and artificial computing is possible because these two fundamentally different forms of information processing can complement each other in many useful ways.  &nbsp

HANDLING THE VARIABILITY OF INFORMATION PROCESSING IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS: AN INFORMATION SYSTEMS DESIGN PERSPECTIVE

The variability of the dynamics of a system introduces variability in the way in which information needs to be processed. Complex adaptive systems such as modern organizations usually include computer-based processes as part of the information processing aspect of their dynamics. According to an adaptability-programmability tradeoff (Conrad, 1985), however, despite the tremendous speed, capacity, accuracy, and communication capabilities of digital computers digital computing faces important challenges, especially when it comes to the support of unstructured processes or of processes where the variability of information processing is high.   In this paper we discuss an approach to handling the variability of information processing in a system as goal of the design of computer-based information systems. We use the view of information processing as an aspect of the dynamics of systems as a means of identifying the requirements that the dynamics imposes on the way in which information needs to be processed. Our approach considers the analysis of the degree of structure of the processes that participate in the dynamics, the uncertainty of the changes occurring in these processes, and the computational and adaptability properties of the processors available in the system. Central to our approach is finding a combination of digital computing, human intelligence, and other forms of information processing on whose basis a computer-based information system that effective supports the functions of the system and contributes to its adaptability can be designed. A function support principle of design and the adaptability-programmability tradeoff provide the necessary guidance

Real brains, artificial minds : by John Casti and Anders Karlqvist, Editors, North-Holland, New York, 1987, 226 pages (US$51.25)

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28183/1/0000635.pd

The Need of Compatibility of Information Processing with the Control Structure of the Organization

In order to be effective an information system must be compatible with the structure and dynamics of the organizational functions it supports and with the adaptability of the organization. An important aspect of the structure of organizations is their control structure, that is, the way in which their control functions relate to each other and to the organizational functions they control. The potential impact of the information system on the adaptability of the organization is particularly important since it affects the ability of the organization to cope with the uncertainty of its environment. This paper addresses the need for an information system to be compatible with the structure and dynamics of the organization it supports and with its adaptability. Because of the effect that the control structure of an organization has on its adaptability, modeling organizations as distributed control structures is particularly useful in our case

A Basic Principle for the Architecture of Computer-based information processing

A Basic Principle for the Architecture of Computer-based information processing Roberto R. Kampfner Computer and Information Science Department College of Engineering and Computer Science The University of Michigan-Dearborn Dearborn, Michigan 48128 Abstract In this paper we discuss the effect of computer-based information processing on the adaptability of the systems. Because of the close relationship that exists between subsystem independence and adaptability, the effect that the structure of computer-based information processing has on the degree of independence between the subsystems of the system that makes use of computer-based information processing (referred to here also as the host system) is central to our discussion. We are focusing here on complex systems that are controlled and operated by humans with the help of computer-based information systems and that face an uncertain environment. This type of systems includes organizations, complex projects, and complex processes and devices controlled by humans with the help of computers. The view of information processing as an aspect of the dynamics of systems (Kampfner, 1998) is also central to our discussion. An important advantage of this view is that it allows us to study the relationship of information processing with other aspects of the dynamics in which it occurs. This in turn gives us the potential to understand the role that information processing plays in practically any particular kind of natural and artificial systems. Three closely related, but distinct types of interdependence between the subsystems of a system can be distinguished. The first one is the interdependence between the computer-based information system, itself a subsystem of the system it supports (referred to here as the main system) and the other subsystems of the main system. The second type of interdependence is the one that exists among the other subsystems of the main system. The third type of interdependence is between the components of the computer-based information system. These three types of interdependence between the subsystems of a system are clearly closely interrelated. Each of these types of interdependence has characteristics that distinguish it from the other types. The first type of interdependence is characterized by the combination and the interaction of human and computer-based information processing

Computer-based Information Systems as a means of Automating the Use of Knowledge about Information Processing in Complex Systems

Information processing can be seen as an aspect, indeed as an integral part, of the dynamics of systems (Kampfner, 1998). Any system uses information in order to control, and coordinate the processes that perform its functions. It is in this broad sense that the dynamics of a system, which comprises the processes that perform its functions, can be seen as the specific way in which a particular system processes information. Information processing in a system or, equivalently, the information processing aspect of its dynamics, can be seen as a manifestation of the ‘knowledge’ about information processing that the system possesses. The notion of information processing that we are using here is very broad. It applies not only to information processing as performed directly by humans or by devices or systems of human design, such as computers and computer-based information systems. It applies to any dynamic system since any such system needs to process information in order to perform, control, and coordinate the processes that perform its functions and achieve its goals. This view confers to information processing a fundamental role in the dynamics of a system, hence in its ability to perform its functions and to achieve its goals. Computer-based information systems play an increasingly important role in the way in which complex adaptive systems such as modern organizations process information. The effectiveness with which computer-based information systems support the functions of a system is therefore a basic, underlying design goal. In this paper we explore the role that some basic principles for the design of computer-based information systems stated earlier play as a guide for the development of computer-based information systems that provide effective function support and contribute to adaptability. We discuss some design factors on the light of these principles. The dynamics of complex systems such as modern organizations is composed of a variety of processes including physical, human, social, and economic ones. As an aspect of their dynamics, information processing is correspondingly complex in these systems: it takes a variety of forms that act concurrently with the other aspects of the dynamics. Especially important to us is the fact that it combines human, computer-based, and other forms of information processing. Human information processing is capable of representing, organizing, transforming, manipulating, and communicating information in a variety of ways, both explicitly and through the actions that we take and the processes that we control. Human information processing is capable of exercising judgment, creativity, and general problem solving capabilities. In addition to that, we humans process information in a conscious way and we can acquire, develop, and use knowledge about information processing. The way a system changes its behavior can be seen as a manifestation of the knowledge it has about how to evolve and to adapt to changes in its environment. This knowledge can be seen as inherent to the system. Part of this knowledge is implicit in its structure and dynamics in the sense that it is not stated in any explicit form. We mentioned earlier that the information processing aspect of the dynamics of a system can be seen as a manifestation of the information processing knowledge that it possesses. The information processing knowledge that a system possesses is, however, only an aspect of the knowledge that it has about all of its dynamics and, consequently, it can be considered an integral part of this broader knowledge. In the systems of interest to us, this knowledge is constantly changing, which means that these systems are constantly developing new ways of processing information. Part of the knowledge that a system has about information processing is meta-knowledge, that is, knowledge about information processing knowledge. This meta-knowledge includes the ability of a system to change its information processing knowledge and, consequently, the way in which it processes information. In the systems of interest here, however, parts of the information processing knowledge and the corresponding meta-knowledge (that is, knowledge about how it processes information) usually exist in an explicit form, including, but not only, the explicit knowledge that people have about computer-based information systems, and the knowledge that is expressed in the documentation of their functions, of the information systems development processes, and of their operation and maintenance. A basic design principle that we refer to here aims at the achievement of the effective support of function in a manner compatible with the adaptability of the system being supported (Kampfner, 1997, 2002). We also refer to a related design principle that aims at designing the architecture of the computer-based information system in a manner that reduces subsystem interdependence in the system being supported (Kampfner, 2008). In this paper we show that allowing the computer-based information system to use some of the information processing knowledge that it needs only when it needs it, instead of storing and maintaining this knowledge on a permanent basis, may help to improve its contribution to adaptability in a manner consistent with the effective support of function. We discuss the conditions in which this contribution is more significant. References Kampfner, R. "Function Support as an Information Systems Development Paradigm," World Futures, Vol. 50, pp. 689-702, 1997. Kampfner, R. “Dynamics and Information Processing in Adaptive Systems,” BioSystems, Vol. 46, pp. 153-162, 1998. Kampfner, R. “Is there a systemic Scale of Information Processing?,” SIG on the Foundations of Information Science, 46th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, August 2nd to August 6th, 2002. Kampfner, R. "A basic principle for the architecture of computer-based information processing." SIG on Information Systems Design and Information Technology, 52nd Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, July 13th to July 18th 2008

The Architecture of Computer-based information Processing and the Effectiveness and Adaptability of Systems

The effectiveness of a computer-based information system can be defined in terms of its ability to support effectively the functions of the system it serves. In fact, a basic principle for the design of computer-based information systems stated earlier (Kampfner, 1997) asserts that in order to provide effective function support, a computer-based information system must be compatible with the structure, dynamics, and adaptability of the system it supports. The effect of computer-based information processing on adaptability can be associated with its effect on the interdependence of the subsystems of the system it serves. In fact, a basic architecture design principle favors the adaptability of the system as a whole (Kampfner, 2008) by appropriately reducing subsystem interdependence (Conrad, 1983). In this paper we propose a top-down approach to the design of computer-based information systems in which the architecture design principle is applied first in order to find an architecture that favors the adaptability of the system being supported by the information system. The effective support of function support must then be achieved on the basis of this architecture