Abstract
Having explored the theory of complex adaptive systems and agent-based modelling, resulting in theoretical foundations of important concepts such as socio-technical system, complexity, and agent, this theory can now be put into practice. This chapter introduces ten steps for creating an agent-based model of a socio-technical system. From the early and inherently ambiguous stages of agreeing what exactly we are interested in, through formalisation and implementation all the way to setting up and presentating detailed experimental analysis, detailed instructions for each step are provided. Examples drawn from published models and recommendations for procedures and tools are given, allowing the reader to start developing their own models.
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Notes
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It is impossible to give a clear and exact advice here, as each individual situation will require different levels of relevant detail. That is the art of modelling!
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Ontology development tools such as Protégé can even automatically generate Java classes based on the ontology definitions.
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The consistency would be particularly important if the definition contains ambiguous terms such as “dollar” which could mean US dollar in one case, but maybe Hong Kong dollar or Singapore dollar in another. That could lead to errors in calculations unless this is clearly specified.
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Please note that these models are developed in RepastJ, a predecessor of the current version called Repast Symphony.
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See http://www.java.com/.
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See for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_issue-tracking_systems.
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This again shows the importance of using clear variable names ….
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At the time of writing.
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Please note that older file systems, such as FAT16 or FAT32, often used on USB disks, can only handle around 65000 files.
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This is especially true for the approximately 10 % of the male population who is colour blind.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to all the other authors of this book for their input on the modelling practice.
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Nikolic, I., van Dam, K.H., Kasmire, J. (2013). Practice. In: van Dam, K., Nikolic, I., Lukszo, Z. (eds) Agent-Based Modelling of Socio-Technical Systems. Agent-Based Social Systems, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4933-7_3
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