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Subject: New Jasss issue
From: Francois Bousquet (francois_bousquet@hotmail.com)
Date: mer jui 04 2001 - 04:34:01 CEST
The third issue of volume 4 of the Journal of Artificial Societies
and Social Simulation (JASSS) was published on June 30th.
JASSS is an electronic, refereed journal devoted to the exploration
and understanding of social processes by means of computer
simulation. It is located at <http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS/>.
It is freely available, with no subscription.
=================
The new issue is another 'bumper' one, with 9 refereed articles, 2
Forum articles and 4 book reviews. The issue includes a special
section on "Applied Simulation Analysis", guest edited by Andreas
Pyka.
Refereed articles:
* Wander Jager, Roel Popping and Hans van de Sande:
Clustering and Fighting in Two-party Crowds:
Simulating the Approach-avoidance Conflict
When two large groups of people meet in the same space, many outcomes
are possible, depending on the types of groups and the occasion.
These outcomes may range from a peaceful mingling of the two groups
to the occurrence of fights and riots. Because the group processes
leading to these outcomes are difficult to study experimentally, the
authors developed a multi-agent simulation model in which the
approach-avoidance conflict has been formalised in simulated actors.
* Loet Leydesdorff
Technology and Culture:
the Dissemination and the Potential 'Lock-in' of New Technologies
How do technological innovations change the patterns of their
cultural diffusion in socio-economic networks? Cellular automata show
Arthur's (1988) model of a potential 'lock-in' of a new technology in
terms of dominant colours on the screen. The 'lock-in' effects can be
combined with local learning, network effects, and more complex
dynamics. Recursive and interaction terms can thus be declared
separately in the construction of a simple, but non-linear model of
technological development and innovation. This enables us to specify
conditions for a 'break-out' or a 'deadlock' between competing
technologies. Using Axelrod's (1997) simulation model of 'cultural
dissemination' as another network effect, it is shown that the
cultural assimilation of a new technology can co-evolve with the
'lock-in' of a dominant technology.
APPLIED SIMULATION ANALYSIS
The first paper, by Michael Möhring and Klaus Troitzsch, draws on a
model already about 30 years old describing the eutrophication of a
lake. Möhring and Troitzsch refine the earlier model in order to
analyse multilevel interactions between users, decision makers and
the natural environment. They introduce a simulation approach helpful
in supporting planing agencies and policy makers in the complex field
of managing ecological systems.
Wolfgang Kerber and Nicole Saam use the possibilities of multilevel
simulation in order to introduce Hayek's concept of competition as a
discovery process into a dynamic economic environment driven by firms
aiming at increasing their market shares through innovation and
imitation. Their approach sheds new light on the debate about the
role of mergers and acquisitions and concentration within competition
policy.
Günter Haag and Phillip Liedl investigate the multi-linked processes
of innovation within firms, and knowledge generation and diffusion.
In particular, their modelling approach combines elements of the
theory of industrial organisation and macroeconomic growth theory
with synergetics. This eclectic modelling strategy leads to new
results with respect to knowledge diffusion and the timing of
innovation.
Inspired by the notion of history-friendly-models coined by Franco
Malerba, Richard Nelson, Luigi Orsenigo and Sidney Winter, the final
four papers can be summarised under the heading of
topic-friendly-models. Thomas Brenner studied the emergence of
localised industrial structures with the help of numerical
techniques. In his geography-friendly-model he draws on the stylised
facts of industrial agglomeration by analysing their particular
importance for the emergence of industrial clusters.
Uwe Cantner, Bernd Ebersberger, Jens Krüger, Horst Hanusch and
Andreas Pyka developed a simulation approach which can be labelled
macroeconomic-friendly. By comparing non-linear regression with
evolutionary programs for empirically deriving transition rates, they
show that the stylised fact of twin peaks in the world income
distribution can be explained using the knowledge-based approach of
evolutionary economics.
Franco Malerba, Richard Nelson, Luigi Orsenigo and Sidney Winter
outline the methodologies of their history-friendly-modelling
approach by focusing on the example of the computer industry. The
authors aim to identify the crucial aspects behind the dynamics of
industrial evolution. To make the outcomes comparable with the
development observed in reality, it is clear that the relationships
have to be modelled in a sector-specific way. Accordingly, such an
approach will need to create many different models for different
industries, although these will nevertheless share common features.
The last paper deals with the SEIN approach to modelling the
emergence and dynamics of innovation networks. The approach of Nigel
Gilbert, Andreas Pyka and Petra Ahrweiler can be described as a
policy-friendly-model because the simulation program offers a
platform which, on the one hand, allows the modelling of different
empirical cases and, on the other hand, allows the analysis of the
impacts of specific policy measures undertaken to spur innovation
processes.
Forum
In Forum section, Kai-H. Brassel describes a new simulation toolkit,
and Yvonne Haffner and Stefan Gramel report on its use in an
application to manage the environment.
* Kai-H. Brassel
Flexible Modelling with VSEit, the Versatile Simulation Environment
for the Internet
* Yvonne Haffner and Stefan Gramel
Modelling Strategies for Water Supply Companies to Deal with
Nitrate Pollution
Reviews
Neural Networks: An Introductory Guide for Social Scientists
G. David Garson
Reviewed by Daniel John Zizzo
How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature
and Informatics
Katherine Hayles
Reviewed by David Byrne
Virtual Worlds: Synthetic Universes, Digital Life and Complexity
Edited by Jean-Claude Heudin
Reviewed by L. Douglas Kiel
Dynamics in Human and Primate Societies: Agent-Based Modeling of
Social and Spatial Processes
Edited by Timothy A. Kohler and George J. Gumerman
Reviewed by David L. Sallach
The new issue can be accessed through the JASSS home page:
http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS.html
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