Aims:

This assignment aims to give you an opportunity to:

- Research and consider an issue of reasonable complexity using the concepts of systems and system dynamics;

- Use brainstorming techniques and collaborate it;

- Apply system dynamics methodology, tools and techniques considered in the subject to show your ideas on the topic researched.

Topics:

The topics of this assignment should be chosen from technical areas introduced by the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC2017) that will be held in Canada (http://www.smc2017.org/). SMC2017 is the flagship conference of the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society, and provides an international forum for researchers and practitioners to report their innovations and development and to exchange ideas and advances in all aspects of systems science and engineering, human machine systems, and cybernetics.

The conference call for paper can be accessed here: http://www.smc2017.org/SMC2017.pdf

Requirements:

Look at the introduced topic areas, do some preliminary literature search and define an interesting research question on your own. Do a more detailed literature review focused on your research question to identify elements that are contributing to the problem raised by your question. Create a detailed causal loop diagram (CLD) to show your findings including relationships, their polarities, and feedback loops. Remember to look at the systemic interrelationships involved in the scenario, and to capture these through your CLD. There is no "right" or "wrong" answer here. Your response will be judged by your understanding of the systemic nature of the situation, and your ability to capture it in a CLD drawn correctly. Ensure that your response does not merely summarize the literature, such a response will not attract many marks. Covert your CLD into a stock-flow diagram (SFD), determine relevant equations and initial values. If finding real data is not possible, the use of estimated values is acceptable. You need to write a six-page paper in the IEEE format which is in use by SMC2017. The template can be found here: https://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/publishing/templates.html

Notes:

-Considering IEEE format, your paper needs to be between 5-7 pages including figures, tables, and references.

- What we will be looking for in your responses is the application of system dynamics, and the use of Vensim. You need to draw the CLDs and SFDs using Vensim.

- Ensure all your references are properly acknowledged via in-text referencing and through a reference list at the end of your paper. Your references should belong to scholarly literature.
See the subject outline for more information on referencing.

- You are reminded of the UTS policy on plagiarism.