WEDNESDAY May 15

The workshop aims to bring together junior and senior researchers experimenting with behavioral modeling at the crossroads of different scientific disciplines who are interested in learning about simulation experiments. During the workshop, we aim to facilitate interdisciplinary reflection on theoretical and empirical insights about behavior in ABMs and discuss how such insights can inform the design of simulation experiments. A senior researcher will share some personal experiences with designing simulation experiments followed by facilitated discussions, in which we learn from each other’s experiences and challenges in implementing different perspectives and approaches to behavioral modeling and designing simulation experiments.

This session will focus on the combination of experiments and agent-based simulations. Three topics will be addressed in particular. First, how have experiments already been used and reported in the ABM literature? In this part, attention will also be given to trends and practices which may have received little or no attention so far. Second, standards for experiments in ABM will be discussed. While the ABM literature has developed standards for developing and testing models, it is still not clear which standards should be applied to experimental settings designed for ABM. In this part of the session, it will be discussed which experimental standards can be imported from other fields (e.g. p-value), their limitations when applied to ABM, and if completely new standards should be proposed to meet the requirements of ABM. Finally, in the third part of the session, the question will be addressed of how we can make experimental ABM flourish. This could be achieved, for example, via both promoting more experimental work in ABM and/or promoting ABM approaches to other experimental fields. In this part, it will also be explored which other fields could be compatible with ABM (for example, in terms of research focus, assumptions, experimental procedures, etc.). The session is organized as a panel discussion. Each topic will be shortly introduced by a member of the panel and thereafter discussed by the panel members and the session participants.  

Participatory complex systems modeling for collaborative and equitable planning 

ESSA is the European Social Simulation Association. Founded more than 20 years ago, ESSA is the world’s largest society for Social Simulation. During this session, the ESSA Management Committee would like to engage the participants (both ESSA and non-ESSA members) in discussions about several topics that the social simulation community finds relevant, among others:

• how to organise common methodological learning;
• how to work more effectively with other associations around the world;
• how to become a more inclusive society;
• how to collaborate through grant proposal writing;
• how to better support social simulation education and training;
• how to provide better support to early career researchers;
• how to better facilitate access to specialized knowledge;
• how to promote social simulation in research and decision making;
• how to facilitate engagement in the community.

Depending on the number of participants, the session will be organised as plenary discussion, break-out rooms, and/or fishbowl discussion.

ESSA@work is a concept born out of the desire to give and receive feedback on work-in-progress agent-based models. Participants present a model they are working on to gather feedback and suggestions to improve, adapt and/or extend their model. The model can be at any stage of development, from a design to a completed model, however, it should have been at least partially explored by the author, and they should prepare questions/problems that they are struggling with in relation to the model. Feedback to participants comes from two different sources: two expert modellers and the audience. In the feedback process, emphasis is placed on constructive exploration of possible solutions to the problems raised by the participants, who are not asked to “defend” their modelling choices. Rather, they are provided with an opportunity to listen to two experts constructively discuss their work with complete involvement.

In the SocSimFesT 2024 edition there will be two participants to present and receive feedback on their work.

Schedule

• To be finalized