Skip to main content

The Notion of “System” as a Core Conceptual Modeling Construct for Life Sciences

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Advances in Conceptual Modeling (ER 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 13012))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 432 Accesses

Abstract

The understanding of life has always been is a challenge of Life Science. Modeling life implies the need to describe the required details of the systemic structure associated with the working mechanisms of life. In this research, we propose that conceptual modeling can play a crucial role in the modeling of life. Specifically, we introduce the notion of “system” as a separate, and core, conceptual modeling construct and demonstrates how to incorporate it into existing, traditional approaches to conceptual modeling. The work is based on the systemism concept as defined by prior work on ontology. The modeling foundations for systemism are provided and applied to case studies to demonstrate the contributions of the systemic approach over traditional conceptual modeling constructs. In doing so, we provide a high-level approach to modeling systems, which should contribute to dealing with complex systems and structures, such as those generally found in the life sciences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Recker, J., Lukyanenko, R., Sabegh, M.A., Samuel, B.M., Castellanos, A.: From representation to mediation: a new agenda for conceptual modeling research in a digital world. MIS Q. 45, 269–300 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bunge, M.A.: Finding Philosophy in Social Science. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Checkland, P., Holwell, S.: Information, Systems, and Information Systems: Making Sense of the Field. John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, NJ (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Lukyanenko, R.: A journey to BSO: evaluating earlier and more recent ideas of Mario Bunge as a foundation for information and software development. In: Exploring Modeling Methods for Systems Analysis and Development (EMMSAD 2020), pp. 1–15. Grenoble, France (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Guarino, N., Guizzardi, G., Mylopoulos, J.: On the philosophical foundations of conceptual models. Inf. Model. Knowl. Bases 31, 1 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Guizzardi, G.: Ontological foundations for structural conceptual models. Telematics Instituut Fundamental Research Series, Enschede, The Netherlands (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Wand, Y., Weber, R.: Thirty years later: some reflections on ontological analysis in conceptual modeling. J. Database Manag. (JDM). 28, 1–17 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wand, Y., Weber, R.: On the ontological expressiveness of information systems analysis and design grammars. Inf. Syst. J. 3, 217–237 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Wand, Y., Storey, V.C., Weber, R.: An ontological analysis of the relationship construct in conceptual modeling. ACM Trans. Database Syst. 24, 494–528 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Burton-Jones, A., Green, P., Parsons, J., Siau, K.: Special issue on ontological analysis in conceptual modeling, Part 2. J. Database Manag. 28, i–x (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Lukyanenko, R., Storey, V.C., Pastor, O.: Foundations of information technology based on Bunge’s systemist philosophy of reality. Softw. Syst. Model. 20(4), 921–938 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Castellanos, A., Lukyanenko, R., Storey, V.C.: Modeling observational crowdsourcing. In: ER Forum 2020, pp. 1–8. Vienna, Austria (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Bunge, M.A.: Philosophy of Science: Volume 2, From Explanation to Justification. Routledge, New York NY (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bunge, M.A.: Chasing Reality: Strife Over Realism. University of Toronto Press, Toronto (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Bunge, M.A.: Treatise on Basic Philosophy: Ontology II: A World of Systems. Reidel Publishing Company, Boston, MA (1979)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  16. Becker, M.A., Jordan, N., Larsen, R.: Predictors of successful permanency planning and length of stay in foster care: the role of race, diagnosis and place of residence. Child Youth Serv. Rev. 29, 1102–1113 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Lukyanenko, R., Castellanos, A., Parsons, J., Chiarini Tremblay, M., Storey, V.C.: How conceptual modeling can support machine learning: evidence from foster care. In: Cappiello, C., Ruiz, M. (eds.) Special Interest Group in Systems Analysis and Design (SIGSAND), pp. 1–11. New York, NY, USA (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Castellanos, A., Castillo, A., Tremblay, M.C., Lukyanenko, R., Parsons, J., Storey, V.C.: Improving machine learning performance using conceptual modeling. In: AAAI Symposium on Combining Machine Learning and Knowledge Engineering in Practice, pp. 1–4. Stanford, CA (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Chen, P.: The entity-relationship model - toward a unified view of data. ACM Trans. Database Syst. 1, 9–36 (1976)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lukyanenko, R., Parsons, J., Samuel, B.M.: Representing instances: the case for reengineering conceptual modeling grammars. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 28, 68–90 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2018.1488567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Eriksson, O., Johannesson, P., Bergholtz, M.: The case for classes and instances-a response to representing instances: the case for reengineering conceptual modelling grammars. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 28, 681–693 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roman Lukyanenko .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Lukyanenko, R., Storey, V.C., Pastor, O. (2021). The Notion of “System” as a Core Conceptual Modeling Construct for Life Sciences. In: Reinhartz-Berger, I., Sadiq, S. (eds) Advances in Conceptual Modeling. ER 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 13012. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88358-4_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88358-4_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-88357-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-88358-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics