Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences

• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Other Authors: Pumain, Denise (Editor)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands, 2006.
• Series: Methodos Series ; 3
• Subjects: Business.; Organization.; Planning.; Epistemology.; System theory.; Statistics.; Social sciences.; Business and Management.; Methodology of the Social Sciences.; Systems Theory, Control.; Social Sciences, general.; Statistics for Life Sciences, Medicine, Health Sciences.

Hierarchy is a form of organisation of complex systems that rely on or produce a strong differentiation in capacity (power and size) between the parts of the system. It is frequently observed within the natural living world as well as in social institutions. According to the authors, hierarchy resul...

Table of Contents:

• Hierarchy: A Short History of a Word in Western Thought
• Biological and Ecological Systems Hierarchical Organisation
• Size, Scale and the Boat Race; Conceptions, Connections and Misconceptions
• Hierarchy, Complexity, Society
• Hierarchy in Lexical Organisation of Natural Languages
• Hierarchy in Cities and City Systems
• Alternative Explanations of Hierarchical Differentiation in Urban Systems
• Conclusion.