opposite of homoarchy, which is itself defined as "the relation of elements to one another when they possess the potential for being ranked in one way only". David C. Stark has been contributing to developing the concept of heterarchy in the sociology of organizations. Political hierarchies and heterarchies are systems in which multiple dynamic power structures govern the actions of the system. They represent different types of network structures that allow differing degrees of connectivity. In a (tree-structured) hierarchy every node is connected to at most one parent node and zero or more child nodes. In a heterarchy, however, a node can be connected to any of its surrounding nodes without needing to go through or get permission from some other node. Socially, a heterarchy distributes privilege and decision-making among participants, while a hierarchy assigns more power and privilege to the members high in the structure. In a systemic perspective, Gilbert Probst, Jean-Yves Mercier and others describe heterarchy as the flexibility of the formal relationships inside an organization. Domination and subordination links can be reversed and privileges can be redistributed in each situation, following the needs of the system. Higher education has also been framed as a heterarchical structure. Examining sex-based discrimination in psychology, Schoenherr and Dopko identify discrepancies between the number of women awarded PhDs, the number of professorships held by women, and the number of scientific awards granted to women in the behavioral sciences and by the American Psychological Association. They argued that this evidence supports difference reward systems, representing heterarchies. They go on to connect the notion of heterarchy to contemporary models relational structures in psychology (i.e., relational models theory). Schoenherr has argued that this is also reflected in divisions with professional psychology, such as those between clinical psychologists and experimental psychologists. Using the history of professional psychology in Canada and the United States, he provides quotations from professional organization to illustrate the disparate identities and reward systems. Rather than reflecting a feature of psychological science, these case studies were presented as evidence of heterarchies in academia and social organizations more generally. See also Adhocracy Directed set Distributed republic Hierarchy Homoarchy Folksonomy Gödel Escher Bach – discussed in chapter five Panarchy Notes Further reading Bruns, Axel (2008). Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, New York: Peter Lang. Stark, David (2011). The Sense of Dissonance: Accounts of Worth in Economic Life, Princeton University Press