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ripple effect

 
Dictionary: ripple effect
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n.
A gradually spreading effect or influence: "Those deviations tend to have a ripple effect throughout the economy as a whole" (Tom Clancy).


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For the episode of Stargate SG-1, see Ripple Effect (Stargate SG-1).
For the puzzle, see Ripple Effect (puzzle).
Ripples on water

The ripple effect is a term used to describe a situation where, like the ever expanding ripples across water when an object is dropped into it, an effect from an initial state can be followed outwards incrementally.

Examples can be found in economics where an individual's reduction in spending reduces the incomes of others and their ability to spend.[1]

In sociology, it can be observed how social interactions can affect situations not directly related to the initial interaction.[2] and in charitable activities where information can be disseminated and passed from community to community to broaden its impact.[3]

The term has been applied in computer science within the field of software metrics as a complexity measure.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Economic Ripple Effect Gone Awry.
  2. ^ Development sociology By Norman Long, Routledge ISBN 978-0-415-23536-5
  3. ^ Experience needed to make VSO's 'ripple effect' work The Guardian 17 September 2004.
  4. ^ Black, Sue, Computing ripple effect for software maintenance, Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice, Volume 13, Issue 4, pages 263–279, 2001. doi:10.1002/smr.233

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ripple effect".  Read more