System

A system is a set of interacting or interdependent component parts forming a complex/intricate whole. Every system is delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries, surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its structure and purpose and expressed in its functioning.

The term system may also refer to a set of rules that governs structure and/or behavior. Alternatively, and usually in the context of complex social systems, the term is used to describe the set of rules that govern structure and/or behavior.

Etymology

The term "system" comes from the Latin word systēma, in turn from Greek σύστημα systēma: "whole compounded of several parts or members, system", literary "composition".

History

According to Marshall McLuhan,

"System" means "something to look at". You must have a very high visual gradient to have systematization. In philosophy, before Descartes, there was no "system". Plato had no "system". Aristotle had no "system".

In the 19th century the French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, who studied thermodynamics, pioneered the development of the concept of a "system" in the natural sciences. In 1824 he studied the system which he called the working substance (typically a body of water vapor) in steam engines, in regards to the system's ability to do work when heat is applied to it. The working substance could be put in contact with either a boiler, a cold reservoir (a stream of cold water), or a piston (to which the working body could do work by pushing on it). In 1850, the German physicist Rudolf Clausius generalized this picture to include the concept of the surroundings and began to use the term "working body" when referring to the system.

System (journal)

System (ISSN 0346-251X) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the applications of educational technology and applied linguistics to problems of foreign language teaching and learning. It was established in 1973 and is published quarterly by Elsevier.

References

External links

Physical system

In physics, a physical system is a portion of the physical universe chosen for analysis. Everything outside the system is known as the environment. The environment is ignored except for its effects on itself. In a physical system, a lower probability states that the vector is equivalent to a higher complexity.

The split between system and environment is the analyst's choice, generally made to simplify the analysis. For example, the water in a lake, the water in half of a lake, or an individual molecule of water in the lake can each be considered a physical system. An isolated system is one that has negligible interaction with its environment. Often a system in this sense is chosen to correspond to the more usual meaning of system, such as a particular machine.

In the study of quantum coherence the "system" may refer to the microscopic properties of an object (e.g. the mean of a pendulum bob), while the relevant "environment" may be the internal degrees of freedom, described classically by the pendulum's thermal vibrations.

MS Herald of Free Enterprise

MS Herald of Free Enterprise was a roll-on roll-off (RORO) ferry which capsized moments after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on the night of 6 March 1987, killing 193 passengers and crew.

The modern 8-deck car and passenger ferry, owned by Townsend Thoresen, had been designed for rapid loading and unloading on the competitive cross-channel route, and there were no watertight compartments. When the ship left harbour with her bow-door open, the sea immediately flooded the decks, and within minutes she was lying on her side in shallow water.

The immediate cause of the sinking was found to be negligence by the assistant boatswain, asleep in his cabin when he should have been closing the bow-door. But the official inquiry placed more blame on his supervisors and a general culture of poor communication in Townsend Thoresen.

Although the vessel was salvaged and put up for sale, there were no takers, and she ended her days in a scrapyard in Taiwan.

Since the disaster, improvements have been made to the design of RORO vessels, with watertight ramps, indicators showing the position of the bow-doors, and the banning of undivided decks.

Carnival Sensation

Carnival Sensation (formerly Sensation) is a Fantasy-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on November, 1, 1993, and christened Sensation by four Carnival Vice Presidents: Vicki L. Freed, Roberta Jacoby, Cherie Weinstein and Geri Donnelly.

During 2007, in common with all of her Fantasy-class sisters, she had the prefix Carnival added to her name.

The third ship to be built in the Fantasy class, Carnival Sensation returned to active cruise service on February 12, 2009, after an extensive drydocking and refit. During the refit, 98 private balconies were added to former ocean view rooms. An adults only sunning area called Serenity was added to Promenade Deck, aft. A children's water park area was installed on Verandah Deck, aft, in an area formerly used as a pool and sunning area. The Carnival Sensation's main pool area on Lido Deck, midship, was renovated and the water slide was removed. Other renovations included new carpeting in public spaces and in her main dining rooms, and a 4-story tall "Carnival Waterworks" waterslide was added at the aft of the ship.

MV Delphin

MV Delphin is a cruise ship owned by the India-based Vishal Cruises Pvt. Ltd., under charter to the Germany-based Passat Kreuzfahrten. Rebuilt and renovated 1986 and 1993 by Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany and got converted into a cruise ship, with her bow unloading doors permanently welded. In 1992, while being serviced at Singapore's Singmarine Dockyard, she toppled over when a floating dock sank with her in it. In 1993, she went through renovations at Lloyd-Werft again and got completely modernized and elegantly re-equipped. At the same time, the Delphin Seereisen and later Delphin-owned Hansa Kreuzfahrten of Germany, had been chartered until bankruptcy. The ship was managed by MTC Marine Trade Consulting GmbH.

Due to the insolvency of Delphin Kreuzfahrten in October 2010, ship was not returned until late 2011 which had been sold by Vishal Cruises Pvt. Ltd. owner Yogesh Gupta.

Sister ships are: Azerbaizhan, Gruziya, Kareliya and Kazakhstan.

History

Delphin in Helsinki