Agent-based modeling is a flexible and intuitive approach that is close to both data and theories, which gives it a special position in the majority of scientific communities. Agent models are as much tools of understanding, exploration and adaptation as they are media for interdisciplinary exchange. It is in this kind of framework that this book is situated, beginning with agent-based modeling of spatialized phenomena with a methodological and practical orientation. Through a governing example, taking inspiration from a real problem in epidemiology, this book proposes, with pedagogy and economy, a guide to good practices of agent modeling. The reader will thus be able to understand and put the modeling into practice and acquire a certain amount of autonomy. Featuring the following well-known techniques and tools: Modeling, such as UML, Simulation, such as the NetLogo platform, Exploration methods, Adaptation using participative simulation
Whereas Volume 1 introduced the NetLogo platform as a means of prototyping simple models, this second volume focuses on the advanced use of NetLogo to connect both data and theories, making it ideal for the majority of scientific communities. The authors focus on agent-based modeling of spatialized phenomena with a methodological and practical orientation, demonstrating how advanced agent-based spatial simulation methods and technics can be implemented. This book provides theoretical and conceptual backgrounds, as well as algorithmic and technical insights, including code and applets, so that readers can test and re-use most of its content. Illustrates advanced concepts and methods in agent-based spatial simulation Features practical examples developed, and commented on, in a unique platform Provides theoretical and conceptual backgrounds, as well as algorithmic and technical insights, including code and applets, so that readers can test and re-use most of its content
Generate and Analyze Multi-Level Data Spatial microsimulation involves the generation, analysis, and modeling of individual-level data allocated to geographical zones. Spatial Microsimulation with R is the first practical book to illustrate this approach in a modern statistical programming language. Get Insight into Complex Behaviors The book progresses from the principles underlying population synthesis toward more complex issues such as household allocation and using the results of spatial microsimulation for agent-based modeling. This equips you with the skills needed to apply the techniques to real-world situations. The book demonstrates methods for population synthesis by combining individual and geographically aggregated datasets using the recent R packages ipfp and mipfp. This approach represents the "best of both worlds" in terms of spatial resolution and person-level detail, overcoming issues of data confidentiality and reproducibility. Implement the Methods on Your Own Data Full of reproducible examples using code and data, the book is suitable for students and applied researchers in health, economics, transport, geography, and other fields that require individual-level data allocated to small geographic zones. By explaining how to use tools for modeling phenomena that vary over space, the book enhances your knowledge of complex systems and empowers you to provide evidence-based policy guidance.
A comprehensive and hands-on introduction to the core concepts, methods, and applications of agent-based modeling, including detailed NetLogo examples. The advent of widespread fast computing has enabled us to work on more complex problems and to build and analyze more complex models. This book provides an introduction to one of the primary methodologies for research in this new field of knowledge. Agent-based modeling (ABM) offers a new way of doing science: by conducting computer-based experiments. ABM is applicable to complex systems embedded in natural, social, and engineered contexts, across domains that range from engineering to ecology. An Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling offers a comprehensive description of the core concepts, methods, and applications of ABM. Its hands-on approach—with hundreds of examples and exercises using NetLogo—enables readers to begin constructing models immediately, regardless of experience or discipline. The book first describes the nature and rationale of agent-based modeling, then presents the methodology for designing and building ABMs, and finally discusses how to utilize ABMs to answer complex questions. Features in each chapter include step-by-step guides to developing models in the main text; text boxes with additional information and concepts; end-of-chapter explorations; and references and lists of relevant reading. There is also an accompanying website with all the models and code.
The work presented here illustrates, using the heavily utilized free software NetLogo, the main principles of agent-based spatial simulation. It will provide theoretical and conceptual backgrounds as well as algorithmic and technical insights, including code and applets, so that readers can test and re-use most of its content.
This is the era of Big Data and computational social science. It is an era that requires tools which can do more than visualise data but also model the complex relation between data and human action, and interaction. Agent-Based Models (ABM) - computational models which simulate human action and interaction – do just that. This textbook explains how to design and build ABM and how to link the models to Geographical Information Systems. It guides you from the basics through to constructing more complex models which work with data and human behaviour in a spatial context. All of the fundamental concepts are explained and related to practical examples to facilitate learning (with models developed in NetLogo with all code examples available on the accompanying website). You will be able to use these models to develop your own applications and link, where appropriate, to Geographical Information Systems. All of the key ideas and methods are explained in detail: geographical modelling; an introduction to ABM; the fundamentals of Geographical Information Science; why ABM and GIS; using QGIS; designing and building an ABM; calibration and validation; modelling human behavior. An applied primer, that provides fundamental knowledge and practical skills, it will provide you with the skills to build and run your own models, and to begin your own research projects.
The work presented here illustrates, using the heavily utilized free software NetLogo, the main principles of agent-based spatial simulation. It will provide theoretical and conceptual backgrounds as well as algorithmic and technical insights, including code and applets, so that readers can test and re-use most of its content.
This book provides a conceptual clarification of the interconnections between agent-based modeling and business process management (BPM) and presents practical examples of agent-based models dealing with BPM and simulation in NetLogo. The book is structured in three parts. Part I starts with the motivation for the work and introduces the general structure of the book. Next, chapter 2 provides a brief introduction to main BPM concepts including the business process lifecycle, which describes the analysis of an organization by means of modeling and simulation, business process performance indicators, and the automatic extraction of information from event data. Chapter 3 then offers a summary of the concept of agent and the studies concerning agent-based approaches that involve business process analysis and management studies. Part II of the book introduces in chapter 4 the NetLogo tool adopted throughout the remaining book. After that, chapter 5 focuses on agent-oriented modeling as a problem domain analysis and design approach for creating decision-support systems based on agent-based simulations. Chapter 6 further describes the topic of agent-based modeling and simulation for business process analysis. The final part III starts with chapter 7 that reviews some BPM applications by introducing programs enabling to manage models represented in standard formats, such as BPMN, Petri nets, and the eXtensible Event Stream standard language. Subsequently, chapter 8 describes a number of case studies from different areas, and eventually, chapter 9 introduces some examples of advanced topics of process mining and agent-based simulation with process discovery, conformance checking, and agent-based applications utilizing Petri nets. The book is primarily written for researchers and advanced graduate and PhD students who look for an introduction to the fruitful exploitation of agent-based modeling to business process management. The book is also useful for industry practitioners who are interested in supporting their business decisions with computational simulations. The book is complemented by a dedicated web site with lots of additional details and models in NetLogo for further evaluation by the reader.
This volume delivers a collection of high-quality contributions to help broaden developers’ and non-developers’ minds alike when it comes to considering software usability. It presents novel research and experiences and disseminates new ideas accessible to people who might not be software makers but who are undoubtedly software users.
This volume constitutes the proceedings of the First International EURO Mini Conference on Modelling and Simulation of Social-Behavioural Phenomena in Creative Societies, MSBC 2019, held in Vilnius, Lithuania, in September 2019. The 8 full papers and 2 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 26 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: computational intelligence in social sciences; modeling and analysis of social-behavioral processes.
