OPEN PROBLEMS IN USING AGENT-BASED MODELS IN INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR DYNAMICS

2004 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 285-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
NIGEL GILBERT
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Open Problems ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Real ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Explanatory Success ◽  
Labor Dynamics ◽  
Main Attraction

The preceding papers have shown the impressive versatility and potential of agent-based modeling in developing an understanding of industrial and labor dynamics. The main attraction of agent-based models is that the actors — firms, workers, and networks — that are the objects of study in the 'real world,' can be represented directly in the model. This one-to-one correspondence between model agents and economic actors provides greater clarity and more opportunities for analysis than many alternative modeling approaches. However, the advantages of agent-based modeling have to be tempered by disadvantages and as yet unsolved methodological problems. In this brief summary drawn from the discussion at the closing session of WILD@ACE, we review three of these open problems in the context of the papers presented at the conference: How can agent-based models be empirically validated? What criteria should be used to evaluate the explanatory success of agent-based models? And how can the conclusions of research on similar topics be integrated?

scholarly journals Agent Based Models of Polymicrobial Biofilms and the Microbiome—A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 417
Author(s):  
Sherli Koshy-Chenthittayil ◽  
Linda Archambault ◽  
Dhananjai Senthilkumar ◽  
Reinhard Laubenbacher ◽  
Pedro Mendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Autonomous Agent ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Mucosal Surfaces ◽  
Living Organisms

The human microbiome has been a focus of intense study in recent years. Most of the living organisms comprising the microbiome exist in the form of biofilms on mucosal surfaces lining our digestive, respiratory, and genito-urinary tracts. While health-associated microbiota contribute to digestion, provide essential nutrients, and protect us from pathogens, disturbances due to illness or medical interventions contribute to infections, some that can be fatal. Myriad biological processes influence the make-up of the microbiota, for example: growth, division, death, and production of extracellular polymers (EPS), and metabolites. Inter-species interactions include competition, inhibition, and symbiosis. Computational models are becoming widely used to better understand these interactions. Agent-based modeling is a particularly useful computational approach to implement the various complex interactions in microbial communities when appropriately combined with an experimental approach. In these models, each cell is represented as an autonomous agent with its own set of rules, with different rules for each species. In this review, we will discuss innovations in agent-based modeling of biofilms and the microbiota in the past five years from the biological and mathematical perspectives and discuss how agent-based models can be further utilized to enhance our comprehension of the complex world of polymicrobial biofilms and the microbiome.

scholarly journals Data assimilation in Agent-based models using creation and annihilation operators

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tang
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Null Model ◽  
The State ◽  
Actual State ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Predator Prey Model ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

Agent-based models are a powerful tool for studying the behaviour of complex systems that can be described in terms of multiple, interacting ``agents''. However, because of their inherently discrete and often highly non-linear nature, it is very difficult to reason about the relationship between the state of the model, on the one hand, and our observations of the real world on the other. In this paper we consider agents that have a discrete set of states that, at any instant, act with a probability that may depend on the environment or the state of other agents. Given this, we show how the mathematical apparatus of quantum field theory can be used to reason probabilistically about the state and dynamics the model, and describe an algorithm to update our belief in the state of the model in the light of new, real-world observations. Using a simple predator-prey model on a 2-dimensional spatial grid as an example, we demonstrate the assimilation of incomplete, noisy observations and show that this leads to an increase in the mutual information between the actual state of the observed system and the posterior distribution given the observations, when compared to a null model.

Findings and Conclusion

2017 ◽  
pp. 68-77
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
International Community ◽  
Agent Based Model ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Real ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Specific Country

This study has produced several insights into the pitfalls of intervening in the affairs of distressed nation states as well as providing a degree of specificity regarding latent variables that exist within the real world scenarios this study is based upon. While extremely simple in design, the agent based model utilized in this study proved to mirror the complex and fluid nature of complex humanitarian operations undertaken by the international community in troubled nations. The scenario utilized was based upon a specific country backdrop, Afghanistan, and utilized some case specifics of that operation to provide a reality based fidelity. The model itself however, is general in nature and can be readily adjusted to examine variables congruent with differing circumstances.

The Simulation Presented in the ODD Protocol

2017 ◽  
pp. 52-67
Keyword(s):  
Model Simulation ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
State Variables ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Design Concepts ◽  
Modeling Simulation ◽  
Area Of Interest

The ODD Protocol has become a standard for documenting and describing agent based models. The protocol is organized around three main elements, from which the ODD acronym originates: Overview, Design concepts, and Details. This chapter is organized around these primary elements and further broken down into seven sub-elements to provide a clear purpose and understanding of the model simulation. The sub-elements are: Purpose, State Variables and Scales, Process Overview and Scheduling, Design Concepts, Initialization, Input, and Sub-models. The model presented is a proto-agent behavioral model and is utilized in an agent based modeling simulation to help identify possible emergent behavioral outcomes of the populations in the area of interest. By varying the rules governing the interactions of the multinational and incumbent government proto-agents, different strategies can be identified for increasing the effectiveness of those proto-agents and the utilization of resources.

scholarly journals Agent-Based Distributed Planning and Coordination for Resilient Airport Surface Movement Operations

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Konstantine Fines ◽  
Alexei Sharpanskykh ◽  
Matthieu Vert
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Coordination Mechanisms ◽  
Multi Agent System ◽  
Distributed Planning ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Surface Movement ◽  
The Real ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Multi Agent ◽  
Operational Data

Airport surface movement operations are complex processes with many types of adverse events which require resilient, safe, and efficient responses. One regularly occurring adverse event is that of runway reconfiguration. Agent-based distributed planning and coordination has shown promising results in controlling operations in complex systems, especially during disturbances. In contrast to the centralised approaches, distributed planning is performed by several agents, which coordinate plans with each other. This research evaluates the contribution of agent-based distributed planning and coordination to the resilience of airport surface movement operations when runway reconfigurations occur. An autonomous Multi-Agent System (MAS) model was created based on the layout and airport surface movement operations of Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. Within the MAS model, three distributed planning and coordination mechanisms were incorporated, based on the Conflict-Based Search (CBS) Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) algorithm and adaptive highways. MAS simulations were run based on eight days of real-world operational data from Schiphol Airport and the results of the autonomous MAS simulations were compared to the performance of the real-world human operated system. The MAS results show that the distributed planning and coordination mechanisms were effective in contributing to the resilient behaviour of the airport surface movement operations, closely following the real-world behaviour, and sometimes even surpassing it. In particular, the mechanisms were found to contribute to more resilient behaviour than the real-world when considering the taxi time after runway reconfiguration events. Finally, the highway included distributed planning and coordination mechanisms contributed to the most resilient behaviour of the airport surface movement operations.

From KISS to TASS Modeling: A Preliminary Analysis of the Segregation Model Incorporated with Spatial Data on Chicago

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
GAKU ITO ◽  
SUSUMU YAMAKAGE
Keyword(s):  
Residential Segregation ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The City

AbstractThe ‘keep it simple, stupid’ slogan, or the KISS principle has been the basic guideline in agent-based modeling (ABM). While the KISS principle or parsimony is vital in modeling attempts, conventional agent-based models remain abstract and are rarely incorporated or validated with empirical data, leaving the links between theoretical models and empirical phenomena rather loose. This article reexamines the KISS principle and discusses the recent modeling attempts that incorporate and validate agent-based models with spatial (geo-referenced) data, moving beyond the KISS principle. This article also provides a working example of such time and space specified (TASS) agent-based models that incorporates Schelling's (1971) classic model of residential segregation with detailed geo-referenced demographic data on the city of Chicago derived from the US Census 2010.

Rethinking Microfinance in a Dual Financial System: An Agent-based Simulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
Sara Bourhime ◽  
Mohamed Tkiouat
Keyword(s):  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Real ◽  
New Methods ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Real Challenge

Abstract Critics concerning the real impact of traditional microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation are becoming frequent. In contrast, the financial crisis brought out interest for Islamic finance, whose models have been increasingly studied. Today, the real challenge lies in evaluating the impact of microfinance in a complex environment, where both Islamic and conventional microfinance institutions exist and address evolving clients in constant interaction. New methods and models are therefore needed in order to test the efficacy and assess the impact of introducing Islamic microfinance products, compared to the conventional system. In this context, this paper proposes an approach to build an Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) framework, which is aiming to test the effects of such products implementation using Islamic interest-free group loans. It also helps assess the impact of the behavioral biases as well as agents’ interactions within the repayment process.

Large-Scale Social Simulation, Dealing with Complexity Challenges in High Performance Environments

2014 ◽  
pp. 106-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Montañola-Sales ◽  
X. Rubio-Campillo ◽  
J. Casanovas-Garcia ◽  
J. M. Cela-Espín ◽  
A. Kaplan-Marcusán
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Computer Simulations ◽  
Real World ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Important Amount ◽  
Distributed Implementation

Advances on information technology in the past decades have provided new tools to assist scientists in the study of social and natural phenomena. Agent-based modeling techniques have flourished recently, encouraging the introduction of computer simulations to examine behavioral patterns in complex human and biological systems. Real-world social dynamics are very complex, containing billions of interacting individuals and an important amount of data (both spatial and social). Dealing with large-scale agent-based models is not an easy task and encounters several challenges. The design of strategies to overcome these challenges represents an opportunity for high performance parallel and distributed implementation. This chapter examines the most relevant aspects to deal with large-scale agent-based simulations in social sciences and revises the developments to confront technological issues.

Exploring Emergence within Social Systems with Agent Based Models

2014 ◽  
pp. 52-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia R. Friesen ◽  
Richard Gordon ◽  
Robert D. McLeod
Keyword(s):  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Real World ◽  
Research Group ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Emergent Behavior ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Social Modeling ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Global Parameters ◽  
Representative Samples

In this chapter, the authors examine manifestations of emergence or apparent emergence in agent based social modeling and simulation, and discuss the inherent challenges in building real world models and in defining, recognizing and validating emergence within these systems. The discussion is grounded in examples of research on emergence by others, with extensions from within our research group. The works cited and built upon are explicitly chosen as representative samples of agent-based models that involve social systems, where observation of emergent behavior is a sought-after outcome. The concept of the distinctiveness of social from abiotic emergence in terms of the use of global parameters by agents is introduced.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document