Examining self-organizing systems models that seek to explain the emergence of patterns of behavior in systems that are initially in a state of disorganization, this book presents a number of applications to contemporary communication theory.

Traditionally, the open systems approach has been used to describe communication structures and processes. This book does not deal with social systems from this perspective. Rather it examines self-organizing systems models that seek to explain the emergence of patterns of behavior in systems that are initially in a state of disorganization. This volume examines the models currently under development - autopoiesis, catastrophe theory, fractal geometry, dissipative structures, complexity theory, cellular automata and artificial intelligence - and presents a number of applications to contemporary communication theory.

Mathematical Approaches To Self-Organizing Systems. An Introduction to Self-Organizing Systems, George A. Barnett. Webs of Science: A Citation Analytic Study of the Concepts of Self-Organization and Autopolesis in Management Studies Journals, William J. White, Network Dynamics in Self-Organizing Communication and Activity Systems, Steven R. Corman. Self-Organization in the Infinite-Choice Prisoner's Dilemma, Frank Tutzauer and Edward T. Palazzolo. Self-Organizing Artificial Neural Networks: Research Methods for the Information Age, Scott Danielson. The Newsgroup Death Model: Internet Groups as Self-Organizing, Dean Krikorian. Self-Organizing Processes And Human Communication. The Role of Language in Self-Organizing, James R. Taylor and Helene Giroux. Complexity and Organizing: A Semiotic Analysis, James Anderson and Renee Houston. Paradigms as Conceptual Fractals, Scott C. Hammond. Contributors. Author Index. Subject Index.