| Description of the element | Symbol |
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1 | Stocks stand for anything that accumulates or drains and these can be physical in nature such as population or non-physical such as trust |
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2 | Flows are the rate of change of stocks which update the magnitude of stocks and are usually outcomes of decisions by management or external forces [32] |
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3 | Converters or auxiliary variables are used to take input data and manipulate or convert that input into some output signal; converters may be used for operations (+, –, ÷, ×) and serve as substitutes for either stocks or flows, and include constants, graphical and behavioural relationships |
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4 | Connector s allow information to pass between converters and converters, stocks and converters, stocks and flows, and converters and flows; they serve as inputs and outputs and not inflows and outflows |
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