Consider the following "Sustaining the Forest" model intended to provide another example of how unexpected the behavior of a web of extended interactions can be.

The interaction of a population of Moose and Wolves.

All the following have a common characteristic.

What do activities of these images have in common?

Consider the following "Sustaining the Forest" model intended to provide another example of how unexpected the behavior of a web of extended interactions can be.

While these pictures represent very different things there is a common essence.

All the following have a common characteristic.

This common archetype of systems that include relapse or recidivism allows exploration of the unintended effects of increasing upstream capacity and swamping downstream capacity. The increase in the relapse rate eventually returns to swamp upstream capacity as well. A social welfare example, based on a TANF case study, from How Small System Dynamics Models Can Help the Policy Process. N. Ghaffarzadegan, J. Lyneis, GP Richardson. System Dynamics Review 27,1 (2011) 22-44 Conference version at http://bit.ly/HlxtZj

Consider the following "Sustaining the Forest" model intended to provide another example of how unexpected the behavior of a web of extended interactions can be.

Joe P. is currently managing a project that's behind schedule and he's experiencing substantial pressure to get the project back on track.

The interaction of a population of Moose and Wolves.

The following model was submitted by Lise Inman & Keith Margerison for inclusion in the ILE currently under development. I think it's a useful model which gets interesting as the arrival interval gets smaller and the queue backs up. So, what do you think of the model and what insights can we surface with this model?

All you wanted to do was put a bird feeder in your yard to attract birds and make for a more pleasant morning. And...

The interaction of a population of Moose and Wolves.

Consider the following "Sustaining the Forest" model intended to provide another example of how unexpected the behavior of a web of extended interactions can be.

The interaction of a population of Moose and Wolves.

While these pictures represent very different things there is a common essence.

While these pictures represent very different things there is a common essence.

All you wanted to do was put a bird feeder in your yard to attract birds and make for a more pleasant morning. And...

Little Red Riding Hood walking through the woods to Grandma's house. How long will it take?

While these pictures represent very different things there is a common essence.

All you wanted to do was put a bird feeder in your yard to attract birds and make for a more pleasant morning. And...

The structure responsible for rabbit population growth.

When one undertakes to create a model there are a number of guidelines that are considered essential for consideration if there is to be a success with the model.