Introduction to the Case Studies

Abstract

In the first chapter of Part II of this book an introduction to the case studies presented in the following chapters is given. The theory and practice presented in Chaps. 2 and 3 are applied to the development of models of various socio-technical systems. Three different time scales for the case studies can be identified: short term (operational), middle term (tactical) and long term (strategic). The first case study deals with operational decision making in supply chains, in which abnormal situations can disrupt the normal operation guided by the actors in the system. In the second case study a longer time period is considered, and tactical decisions about consumer behaviour regarding lighting is studied. Case studies three and four deal with the long term. Case study three looks at the strategic decision making of electricity producers, including the effects of several policies and carbon taxation or carbon emission trading schemes on the portfolio development. In the fourth case study the life cycle of mobile phones is considered, with emphasis on the recycling of metals used in their production. Together, these case studies give an overview of the possibilities of agent-based models for socio-technical systems. All models in this book are based on the same shared ontology for socio-technical systems, which describes key concepts for networks of actors as well as technical components, along with a detailed set of properties for the physical and economical aspects of the system. The basic structure of this ontology is described here and the workflow using the ontology is explained.