| 1. |
- Antosz, Patrycja, et al.
(författare)
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What do you want theory for? - A pragmatic analysis of the roles of theory in agent-based modelling
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental Modelling & Software. - 1364-8152 .- 1873-6726. ; 168
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There has been some discussion about agent-based modelling (ABM) and theory, particularly how ABM might facilitate theory building. However, there is confusion about the different ways they could relate and some scepticism as to whether theory is needed if one has an ABM. This paper distinguishes some of the different ways that the term “theory” is used in ABM papers in three important ABM journals: Environmental Modelling & Software, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems and the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. Apart from the simple-minded identification of theory with mathematics, we distinguish nine different ways that theory and ABM relate. This analysis is situated with respect to some of the expectations and philosophical background behind the idea of “theory”. The paper concludes with some ways in which theory and ABM could work better together, some possible ways forward and suggests that a more cautious approach to generalisation might be more appropriate.
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| 2. |
- Berger, Uta, et al.
(författare)
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Towards reusable building blocks for agent-based modelling and theory development
- 2024
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Ingår i: Environmental Modelling & Software. - 1364-8152 .- 1873-6726. ; 175
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite the increasing use of standards for documenting and testing agent -based models (ABMs) and sharing of open access code, most ABMs are still developed from scratch. This is not only inefficient, but also leads to ad hoc and often inconsistent implementations of the same theories in computational code and delays progress in the exploration of the functioning of complex social -ecological systems (SES). We argue that reusable building blocks (RBBs) known from professional software development can mitigate these issues. An RBB is a submodel that represents a particular mechanism or process that is relevant across many ABMs in an application domain, such as plant competition in vegetation models, or reinforcement learning in a behavioural model. RBBs need to be distinguished from modules, which represent entire subsystems and include more than one mechanism and process. While linking modules faces the same challenges as integrating different models in general, RBBs are atomic enough to be more easily re -used in different contexts. We describe and provide examples from different domains for how and why building blocks are used in software development, and the benefits of doing so for the ABM community and to individual modellers. We propose a template to guide the development and publication of RBBs and provide example RBBs that use this template. Most importantly, we propose and initiate a strategy for community -based development, sharing and use of RBBs. Individual modellers can have a much greater impact in their field with an RBB than with a single paper, while the community will benefit from increased coherence, facilitating the development of theory for both the behaviour of agents and the systems they form. We invite peers to upload and share their RBBs via our website - preferably referenced by a DOI (digital object
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| 3. |
- Wijermans, Nanda, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Agent decision-making : The Elephant in the Room - Enabling the justification of decision model fit in social-ecological models
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental Modelling & Software. - 1364-8152 .- 1873-6726. ; 170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agent-based models are particularly suitable to reflect the dynamics of humans, nature, and their interactions, making them a crucial approach for understanding social-ecological systems. The formalisations of human decision-making are central to resulting model behaviours. Despite awareness of the complexity of human behaviour in social-ecological systems research, scholars tend to represent human decision-makers as simplified, perfectly informed rational optimisers, without explicitly considering the fit with decision context. Key reasons are a lacking uptake of social theories and insights. To advance, we need a practice of reflecting, sharing, and inquiring on the justification of the decision model fit with its context. This paper stimulates this practice by 1) supporting the justification of decision model (DM) fit by describing the DM landscape and providing guiding questions; and 2) by supporting researchers in considering alternative DMs through a survey-based impression of modeller practices, and through highlighting DM frontiers as inspiration for future research.
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| 4. |
- Wijermans, Nanda, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Editorial : Social identity modelling
- 2023
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Ingår i: JASSS. - 1460-7425. ; 26:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This is an editorial to the special section on “Social Identity Modelling”, published in Volume 26, Issues 2 and 3, 2023 of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. It provides information on how the Social Identity Approach (SIA) and the research using its theoretical framework explains collective behaviour, tailored specifically for modellers. The discussion centres around describing and reflecting on the state of the art in modelling SIA. The editorial ends with looking ahead towards formalising SIA as a means to enable more collective behavioural realism in agent-based social simulations.
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