New issue of JASSS: Vol. 4(3)

[Nigel Gilbert]

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



--
_______________________________________________________________________
Professor Nigel Gilbert,  Editor, Journal of Artificial Societies and
   Social Simulation, <http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS/>.
Centre for Research on Simulation in the Social Sciences (CRESS),
   Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
  Tel:+44 1483 689173  Fax:+44 1483 689551  address@hidden
Simulation resources at <http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/research/simsoc/>


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