MODELING ENDOGENOUS RULE CHANGES IN AN INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT: THE ADICO SEQUENCE

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 199-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEX SMAJGL ◽  
LUIS R. IZQUIERDO ◽  
MARCO HUIGEN
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Institutional Framework ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rule Changes ◽  
Do So

Agent-based modeling is being increasingly used to simulate socio-techno-ecosystems that involve social dynamics. Humans face constraints that they sometimes wish to challenge, and when they do so, they often trigger changes at the scale of the social group too. Including such adaptation dynamics explicitly in our models would allow simulation of the endogenous emergence of rule changes. This paper discusses such an approach in an institutional framework and develops a sequence that allows modeling of endogenous rule changes. Parts of this sequence are implemented in a NetLogo KISS model to provide some illustrative results.

scholarly journals Beyond Informal Social Protection – Personal Networks of Economic Support in Namibia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annalena Oppel
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
Support Practices ◽  
Support Relationships ◽  
Group Inequality ◽  
Do So

This paper poses a different lens on informal social protection (ISP). ISP is generally understood as practices of livelihood support among individuals. While studies have explored the social dynamics of such, they rarely do so beyond the conceptual space of informalities and poverty. For instance, they discuss aspects of inclusion, incentives and disincentives, efficiency and adequacy. This provides important insights on whether and to what extent these practices provide livelihood support and for whom. However, doing so in part disregards the socio-political context within which support practices take place. This paper therefore introduces the lens of between-group inequality through the Black Tax narrative. It draws on unique mixed method data of 205 personal support networks of Namibian adults. The results show how understanding these practices beyond the lens of informal social protection can provide important insights on how economic inequality resonates in support relationships, which in turn can play a part in reproducing the inequalities to which they respond.

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.

Self-organizing moral systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Moral Systems ◽  
Individual Mode ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Plan ◽  
Do So ◽  
Self Organizing

This essay examines two different modes of reasoning about justice: an individual mode in which each individual judges what we all ought to do and a social mode in which we seek to reconcile our judgments of justice so that we can share common rules of justice. Social contract theory has traditionally emphasized the second, reconciliation mode, devising a central plan (the contract) to do so. However, I argue that because we disagree not only in our judgments of justice but also about the degree of reconciliation justice calls for, the social contract presupposes a single, controversial, answer to the proper degree of reconciliation. In place of the social contract’s ‘top-down’ approach, this article explores the idea of self-organizing moral systems, in which each individual, acting on her own views of justice (including the importance of reconciliation), responds to the decisions of others, forming systems of shared justice. Several basic agent-based models are explored to begin to understand the dynamics under which individuals with diverse views of justice may come to share common rules. It is found that, surprisingly, by increasing the diversity in a system, we can sometimes increase the possibility of agreement.

How the Spread of User-Generated Contents (UGC) Shapes International Tourism Distribution: Using Agent-Based Modeling to Inform Strategic UGC Marketing

2020 ◽  
pp. 004728752095163
Author(s):  
Ye Zhang ◽  
Jie Gao ◽  
Shu Cole ◽  
Peter Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Travel Decision ◽  
Media Channels

While user-generated contents (UGC) are recognized as increasingly important to destination marketing, many DMOs are uncertain how to strategically manage them to their best advantage, largely due to their lack of understanding of mechanisms underlying the UGC effects. By integrating multiple theories of travel decision-making and UGC distribution, this study develops and validates an agent-based model to inform DMOs of potential causal mechanisms of how individual tourists’ UGC behavioral features shape international arrival distribution via the social media channels of review sites (RSs) and social networking sites (SNSs). Simulated experiments with the model decompose and assess the complex UGC behavioral effects, which further suggest context-based favorable UGC distribution statuses for DMOs’ strategic UGC marketing. The model developed following a rigid procedure offers a promising UGC research approach toward the combination of restrictive causal conceptualization and real-life replicability. It also provides an adaptive prototype for cost-effective UGC effect assessments by DMOs.

Theorizing the configuration of modifiable off-the-shelf software

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 887-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Mousavidin ◽  
Leiser Silva
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Social Construction Of Technology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Interpretive Flexibility ◽  
Do So

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to theorize the social dynamics of modifiable off-the-shelf software (MOTS) configuration process. The authors do so by formulating theoretical propositions about the configuration process. Design/methodology/approach The authors have conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on MOTS configuration and the associated challenges to draw on the properties of MOTS. The authors then examined these properties through the lens of social construction of technology to formulate the authors’ theoretical propositions. Findings The authors formulate theoretical propositions about the configuration process. The authors also develop four scenarios based on the authors’ theoretical propositions for managing the configuration process of MOTS. These scenarios categorize the difficulty level of the configuration by two theoretical groups: malleability and interpretive flexibility. Practical implications The findings especially the scenarios can guide practitioners when managing configuration processes. Originality/value The authors synthesize the literature on MOTS. The theoretical contributions emphasize the social dynamics in configuring this type of software which is an angle that has not been developed in previous literature.

scholarly journals Identifying Influence Agents That Promote Physical Activity Through the Simulation of Social Network Interventions: Agent-Based Modeling Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabo J van Woudenberg ◽  
Bojan Simoski ◽  
Eric Fernandes de Mello Araújo ◽  
Kirsten E Bevelander ◽  
William J Burk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Social Network Intervention ◽  
The Social ◽  
Network Intervention

BACKGROUND Social network interventions targeted at children and adolescents can have a substantial effect on their health behaviors, including physical activity. However, designing successful social network interventions is a considerable research challenge. In this study, we rely on social network analysis and agent-based simulations to better understand and capitalize on the complex interplay of social networks and health behaviors. More specifically, we investigate criteria for selecting influence agents that can be expected to produce the most successful social network health interventions. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test which selection criterion to determine influence agents in a social network intervention resulted in the biggest increase in physical activity in the social network. To test the differences among the selection criteria, a computational model was used to simulate different social network interventions and observe the intervention’s effect on the physical activity of primary and secondary school children within their school classes. As a next step, this study relied on the outcomes of the simulated interventions to investigate whether social network interventions are more effective in some classes than others based on network characteristics. METHODS We used a previously validated agent-based model to understand how physical activity spreads in social networks and who was influencing the spread of behavior. From the observed data of 460 participants collected in 26 school classes, we simulated multiple social network interventions with different selection criteria for the influence agents (ie, in-degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and random influence agents) and a control condition (ie, no intervention). Subsequently, we investigated whether the detected variation of an intervention’s success within school classes could be explained by structural characteristics of the social networks (ie, network density and network centralization). RESULTS The 1-year simulations showed that social network interventions were more effective compared with the control condition (beta=.30; t100=3.23; P=.001). In addition, the social network interventions that used a measure of centrality to select influence agents outperformed the random influence agent intervention (beta=.46; t100=3.86; P<.001). Also, the closeness centrality condition outperformed the betweenness centrality condition (beta=.59; t100=2.02; P=.046). The anticipated interaction effects of the network characteristics were not observed. CONCLUSIONS Social network intervention can be considered as a viable and promising intervention method to promote physical activity. We demonstrated the usefulness of applying social network analysis and agent-based modeling as part of the social network interventions’ design process. We emphasize the importance of selecting the most successful influence agents and provide a better understanding of the role of network characteristics on the effectiveness of social network interventions.

Dynamics in Human and Primate Societies

2000 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
The Social

As part of the SFI series, this book presents the most up-to-date research in the study of human and primate societies, presenting recent advances in software and algorithms for modeling societies. It also addresses case studies that have applied agent-based modeling approaches in archaeology, cultural anthropology, primatology, and sociology. Many things set this book apart from any other on modeling in the social sciences, including the emphasis on small-scale societies and the attempts to maximize realism in the modeling efforts applied to social problems and questions. It is an ideal book for professionals in archaeology or cultural anthropology as well as a valuable tool for those studying primatology or computer science.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document