Journal on Policy & Complex Systems Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 4

Policy and Complex Systems - Volume 2 Number 1 - Spring 2015
Editor ’ s Introduction
Welcome to the third issue of the Journal of Policy and Complex Systems .
Complex systems define a class of problems that are often described as non-linear ( the whole is greater than the sum of its parts ), adaptive ( both the system and its constituent parts adjust over time to the changes in the environment , within the system , and within the components ), self-organizing ( components self organize without central direction ), and emergent ( it is hard to anticipate the system outcome of interventions carried out at the component level ). Such problems are found everywhere , from healthcare , economy , banking , and energy to retail , transportation , politics , and technology .
Policy is a method for regulating such systems . Policies are usually put in place to remedy , inform , control , prescribe , or regulate certain aspects of the system . But policies don ’ t act at the system level through some all-powerful invisible medium that has to be followed by all components . Rather , policies act that the level of components , by regulating and prescribing behavior of components as they interact with each other and with the environment . Consequently , before we implement a policy it is important to understand its possible effects on the behavior of components that constitute the system itself .
The Journal of Policy and Complex Systems represents the forum for exchanging ideas on the best way to design , implement , and evaluate complex systems-based models of policies before they are institutionalized in their intended environments . As such , this journal is an extremely important development in the process of policy development , implementation , and evaluation . We hope that the reader will find the papers in this and other volumes of this journal informative and of practical value . We also hope that the reader will consider publishing his or her research in the future issues of the Journal of Policy and Complex Systems .
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10.18278 / jpcs . 2.1.1