Title: Modelling critical infrastructure via a mixed holistic reductionistic approach

Authors: Stefano De Porcellinis, Stefano Panzieri, Roberto Setola

Addresses: Universita CAMPUS Bio-Medico, Complex Systems and Security Lab., Via A. del Portillo, 21 00128, Rome, Italy. ' Universita degli Studi 'Roma Tre', Via della Vasca Navale, 79, Rome, Italy. ' Universita CAMPUS Bio-Medico, Complex Systems and Security Lab., Via A. del Portillo, 21 00128, Rome, Italy

Abstract: Infrastructure systems and their interaction mechanisms can be interpreted following a multitude of different approaches, depending on different perspectives and levels of abstraction. In this paper, we propose a mixed approach, in which different representations of the same infrastructure is used in order to define the interdependencies and interactions among infrastructures and their elements. We explicitly introduce into our model the three concepts of: infrastructure, component and interaction; and model, on one hand, intra-domain dependencies with a reductionistic approach and, on the other hand, inter-domain dependencies mainly using a holistic vision.

Keywords: critical infrastructures; interdependencies; complex systems; holistic modelling; reductionist modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2009.022851

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2009 Vol.5 No.1/2, pp.86 - 99

Published online: 30 Jan 2009 *

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