CfP: ESSA 2009 Conference 14-18 Sept 2009

Call for Papers for:

ESSA 2009

The 6th Conference of the European Social Simulation Association Conference

14-18 September 2009, Univ. of Surrey, Guilford (just outside London), UK.

Deadline for submissions: 14th April, 2009

http://cress.soc.surrey.ac.uk/essa2009

ESSA 2009 will, like its predecessors, attract the best papers from across the world, describing the newest and most significant social simulation work. These will cover: human, animal and artificial societies, and apply a wide range of techniques. Social Simulation seems to be at a "tipping point" between revolutionary and normal science where it is introducing more rigour into its methods.

Come to participate in the formation of a new science!

The invited speakers are:

• Mark Bedau, Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Reed College and Editor of Artificial Life
• Jim Doran, Emeritus Professor of the Univ. of Essex and one of the founders of Social Simulation
• Tim Kohler, Professor in the Dept. of Anthropology, Washington State University and Santa Fe

Submission

Reasonably mature papers on all aspects of social simulation will be carefully and anonymously considered – however most papers will (1) describe an individual/agent-based computer simulation (2) exhibit the outcomes of running the simulation in more than a cursory way and (3) make some comparison of these with either: evidence from, or other models of, social phenomena (human, animal or artificial). If you are in doubt as to the relevance of a paper, you may email the Scientific Chair for his opinion (see below), however the decisions about relevance will be made by the Programme Committee. See the conference website for details as to submission procedure.

All the accepted papers will be included in the ESSA 2009 electronic proceedings. The best accepted papers will be published in a separate post-proceedings.

The Venue

The conference will be held at the University of Surrey, Guildford. The Sociology Department there is rated as one of the top centres for sociology research in the UK. It is just outside London in the pretty town of Guilford, near Heathrow Airport and easily accessible from Gatwick.






Organizing Committee

The conference chair is Nigel Gilbert, University of Surrey, UK

Other members of the organising committee are:

• Edmund Chattoe, University of Leicester, UK
• Bruce Edmonds, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK (Scientific Chair)
• Fred Amblard, University of Toulouse, France
• Flaminio Squazzoni, University of Brescia, Italy
• Lu Yang, University of Surrey, UK (Admin)

There is a large and varied program committee representing the top social simulation academics from across the world, covering a large variety of different views and approaches. For a list of PC members see the website.

Contact

For queries about the organisation of the conference, bookings, travel etc. see http://cress.soc.surrey.ac.uk/essa2009/contactUs.php and for the submission of papers, the reviewing process or the programme email: essa2009@cfpm.org

CPM Report 08-199: Bootstrapping Knowledge about Social Phenomena using Simulation Models - Bruce Edmonds

Formidable difficulties face anyone trying to model social phenomena using a formal system, such as a computer program. The differences between formal systems and complex, multi-facetted and meaning-laden social systems are so fundamental that many will criticise any attempt to bridge this gap. Despite this, there are those who are so bullish about the project of social simulation that they appear to believe that simple computer models, that are also useful and reliable indicators of how aspects of society works, are not only possible but within our grasp. This paper seeks to pour water on such optimism but, on the other hand, show that useful computational models might be ‘evolved’. In this way it is disagreeing with both naive positivist and relativistic post-modernist positions. However this will require a greater ‘selective pressure’ against models that are not grounded in evidence, ‘floating models’, and will result in a plethora of complex and context-specific models.

Available at: http://cfpm.org/cpmrep199.html

CPM Report 08-198: System Farming - Bruce Edmonds

We discuss the implications of emergence and complexity for the management of complex distributed systems (CDS). We argue that while formal design methods may play a role, they have distinct limitations where it comes to complex systems. There are similar limitations to statistical methods. Thus we must look to other ways of managing these systems, involving a shift from: prior one-off design towards post hoc continual management; from predictive abstract theory towards detailed descriptive modelling to guide monitoring and aid diagnosis; from system optimisation to simple disaster prevention; from single models to many models; from single well-designed mechanisms to multiple overlapping mechanisms; from individual to collective effort. We call upon those in the SASO community to explicitly reject those tenets that are only useful with simple systems. In other words, when trying to understand CDS, become more like zoologists rather than mathematicians and when managing them becoming more like farmers than engineers (at least in the classic sense).

Available at: http://cfpm.org/cpmrep198.html

CPM Report 08-197: Emotions in social interactions: unfolding emotional experience - Claudia Marinetti, Penny Moore, Pablo Lucas dos Anjos and Brian P

In the unremitting complexity of social life, emotions play a key role in defining and regulating our
relationships with others and, more generally, with the environment surrounding us. Our emotional reactions to other people influence how those others react to us, and to a certain extent how future encounters will develop. At the same time, our own emotional behaviour is shaped by others’ thoughts and deeds. Although emotions undeniably have personal and subjective aspects, they are usually experienced in a social context and acquire their significance in relation to this context (see also the “Socially situated affective systems” chapter, WP7, in this handbook).

Available at: http://cfpm.org/cpmrep197.html

CPM Report 08-196: "Death to . . . !": On Opinion Dynamics in Conict-Torn Afghanistan - Armando Geller and Nanda Wijermans

Crowds and riots in contemporary conflict are only little understood. However, it is fairly well understood that the emergence of crowds and riots in conflict regions has a severe and lasting impact on the security situation. On the basis of an existing and cross-validated model of Afghan power structures we demonstrate what role opinion dynamics play in the evolution of a critical social condition preceding the emergence of crowds and riots. It is explained how information on security incidences spreads within an artificial society and when such a turning point is reached. The influence of network structures on the spread of information and the role opinion leaders play is explored. We find that small world network structures lead to dynamics that are volatile, unpredictable and performative in nature. It is also shown that opinion leaders have a catalytic effect on the information distribution processes. These findings bear importance for policy makers and practitioners in the field.

Available at: http://cfpm.org/cpmrep196.html