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. 2021 Sep 20;31(1):649–663. doi: 10.1002/j.2334-5837.2021.00860.x

Dealing with COVID‐19 Pandemic in Complex Societal System for Resilience Study: A Systems Approach

Bijun Wang 1,✉, Mo Mansouri 1
PMCID: PMC8667639

Abstract

The continuing spread of COVID‐19 has triggered a global health crisis with raising a series of problems in healthcare, economics, policymaking and environment, which significantly affected the resilience of the whole societal system. We emphasize the societal system, as an adaptive and complex system, has a fundamental impact on the spread of the virus linked to individual behavior change and disaster governance system. This paper combined system thinking and resilience thinking to visualize the complexity and comprehend the governance system under global pandemic threats towards recovering the resilient society. We underline the societal system can be affected by the pandemic, and in turn, impinge on the individual behaviors and governance with a proposed multi‐stage and multi‐scalar framework dealt with the process from crisis to recovery. Meanwhile, a qualitative system dynamics model is proposed inspired by the general Susceptible‐Infected‐Recovery (SIR) model with multiple interactions and interdependency of intervention policies, human psychological factors and mobility‐related factors to explore the influence on the societal system with time effect. Through this perspective, we should enhance the sense of crisis and integrate resilience thinking into the current hazards and recovery process combined with the interconnectedness among societal system in the future.

 

Biographies

Bijun Wang. Completed her MS in Industrial and System Engineering at the Rutgers University in 2018. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Stevens Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on system dynamic, system resilience with data‐driven method and evidence‐based approach, aiming at understanding and influencing patterns of collective behaviors in societal systems.

Mo Mansouri. Mo Mansouri is Professor and Director for Graduate Studies as well as Director for Systems Engineering Programs and Socio‐technical Systems Program at the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology. His research interests are resilience in Infrastructure Systems and Infrastructure Governance. Prior to joining Stevens Institute of Technology, he served as a consultant for the HAND Foundation, the World Bank, NIAC and other non‐profit entities. Dr. Mansouri holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Management from George Washington University.

Contributor Information

Bijun Wang, Email: bwang27@stevens.edu, Phone: (848)239‐8385.

Mo Mansouri, Email: mo.mansouri@stevens.edu, Phone: (201)216‐8644.

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