Social systems as a research area investigates structured patterns of social relationships, interactions, and institutions using formal theories and empirical methods drawn from sociology, systems theory, network science, and related fields. It focuses on the dynamic organization of individuals, groups, and organizations into interdependent networks, analyzing feedback processes, emergence, stability, and change. Researchers model social systems at multiple scales, from micro-level interactions to macro-level structures, often employing mathematical modeling, agent-based simulations, and quantitative data analysis to study phenomena such as coordination, cooperation, inequality, diffusion, governance, and resilience in complex, adaptive social environments.
From the bright lights of cities that don't sleep—where people hustle and bustle through the night to keep subways, servers, and supply chains alive—to the whisper-dark understory of tropical forests where ants hum in syncopated ...
Ecology
Jun 16, 2025
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By day, Chris Boone leads the USC Price School of Public Policy as dean. By night, he captures the wonders of the cosmos through astrophotography. An expert in urban sustainability and environmental justice, Boone sees cities ...
Environment
Apr 23, 2025
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As evidence continues to pour in showing that climate change's impacts disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities around the globe, so too do stories showing that these communities can also pay outsized costs to ...
Environment
Apr 21, 2025
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While the daily ebb and flow of people across a city might seem chaotic, new research reveals underlying universal patterns. A study published in the journal Nature Communications by a team led by Chair Professor Bo Huang ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 8, 2025
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Many systems in nature—and in society—can suddenly change their properties: Water freezes at normal pressure at 32°F, a power grid collapses when a central substation fails, or a society splits into opposing factions following ...
General Physics
Mar 24, 2025
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120
In 1960, Lewis Fry Richardson famously observed that the severity of a wartime event is described by a simple power law distribution that scales according to the size of the conflict. Statisticians have since proposed various ...
General Physics
Mar 21, 2024
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Human behavior is an enigma that fascinates many scientists. And there has been much discussion over the role of probability in explaining how our minds work.
Quantum Physics
Jan 19, 2024
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