Multi-agent Simulation of Human Social Behaviors [English] - 112 Academic Year
This course is offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
It was produced in collaboration with the university’s Distinguished Visiting Professorship Program (DVP) and the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The purpose of the course is to introduce students in the humanities and the social sciences to computer modeling techniques ideally suited to the study of human behavior. Among the various modeling techniques that might be employed, multi-agent modeling (often abbreviated as ABM for agent-based modeling) is the most nuanced and effective tool for studying complex social systems. Students will be introduced to one of the most popular simulation platforms called NetLogo. Students will learn the basic theoretical and practical concepts of social simulations, what models can and cannot do, what kinds of questions they might answer, and the technical skills to build their own models.
Student achievements will be:
- Engaging some basic social-scientific explanations of human behaviors
- Understanding the contributions modeling can make to academic studies
- Integrating the modeling exercise into larger research agendas
- Conceptualizing and building simple models of social systems such as resource consumption and renewal, traffic patterns, dissemination of cultural information through social networks, and segregation patterns around racial and cultural differences.
- Articulating a unique project of their own devising, conceptualizing the modeling strategy, implementing the model, analyzing the results, and summarizing what was and was not discovered.
(This course uses resources from the NetLogo website as teaching demonstrations.)
©Wilensky, U. 1999. NetLogo. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University. Evanston, IL.
Textbook：
An Introduction to Agent-based Modeling, Uri Wilensky and William Rand, MIT Press, 2015.
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| Instructor(s) | 美國朱尼亞塔學院 Donald M. Braxton老師、人文社會學系 潘美玲老師 |
|---|---|
| Course Credits | 3 Credits |
| Academic Year | 112 Academic Year |
| Level | Graduate Student |
| Prior Knowledge | None |
| Related Resources | Course Video Course Syllabus Course Calendar |
| Week | Course Content | Course Video |
|---|---|---|
| Lec01 | Watch Online | |
| Lec02 | Watch Online | |
| Lec03 | Watch Online | |
| Lec04 | Watch Online | |
| Lec05 | Watch Online | |
| Lec06 | Watch Online | |
| Lec07 | Watch Online | |
| Lec08 | Watch Online | |
| Lec09 | Watch Online | |
| Lec10 | Watch Online | |
| Lec11 | Watch Online | |
| Lec12 | Watch Online | |
| Lec13 | Watch Online | |
| Lec14 | Watch Online | |
| Lec15 | Watch Online |
Course Objectives
It was produced in collaboration with the university’s Distinguished Visiting Professorship Program (DVP) and the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The purpose of the course is to introduce students in the humanities and the social sciences to computer modeling techniques ideally suited to the study of human behavior. Among the various modeling techniques that might be employed, multi-agent modeling (often abbreviated as ABM for agent-based modeling) is the most nuanced and effective tool for studying complex social systems. Students will be introduced to one of the most popular simulation platforms called NetLogo. Students will learn the basic theoretical and practical concepts of social simulations, what models can and cannot do, what kinds of questions they might answer, and the technical skills to build their own models.
Student achievements will be:
- Engaging some basic social-scientific explanations of human behaviors
- Understanding the contributions modeling can make to academic studies
- Integrating the modeling exercise into larger research agendas
- Conceptualizing and building simple models of social systems such as resource consumption and renewal, traffic patterns, dissemination of cultural information through social networks, and segregation patterns around racial and cultural differences.
- Articulating a unique project of their own devising, conceptualizing the modeling strategy, implementing the model, analyzing the results, and summarizing what was and was not discovered.
(This course uses resources from the NetLogo website as teaching demonstrations.)
©Wilensky, U. 1999. NetLogo. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University. Evanston, IL.
This course calendar provides information on course progress and exams.
week | Date | Course Schedule and Topic |
| 1 | 2023-09-12(二) | Introduction to the Course Syllabus Complex Social Systems Chapter 0 |
| 2 | 2023-09-19(二) | First Models Chapter 1 Key Concepts: Properties, States, and Behaviors Models as Descriptions |
| 3 | 2023-09-26(二) | Model Components Chapter 2 Key Concepts: Iterations in Time (Ticks) The Interface, Info, and Code Tabs Models: The Game of Life |
| 4 | 2023-10-03(二) | Model Components (cont) Chapter 2 Key Concepts: Turtle Monitors Self-Organization |
| 5 | 2023-10-10(二) | National Holiday, no class |
| 6 | 2023-10-17(二) | How to Conduct Research with Models Chapter 3 Key Concepts: Spread of disease Models Models: The Fire Model |
| 7 | 2023-10-24(二) | Conducting Research with Models (cont.) Chapter 3 Key Concepts: Diffusion and Aggregation Models Percolation Models Models: Percolation Model |
| 8 | 2023-10-31(二) | Conducting Research with Models (cont.) Chapter 3 Key Concepts: Segregation Weak/Strong Prejudice Models: The Segregation Model |
| 9 | 2023-11-07(二) | Testing |
| 10 | 2023-11-14(二) | Making Choices Chapter 4 Key Concepts: Design Phase Choices The Question (Testability, Verification, Repeatability) Basic Principles: Start with the simplest form of the model possible and build complexity and nuance only over time. Always keep a version of the model at every step of Improvement as a record. Comment all code (;;) and keep notes page up-to-date |
| 11 | 2023-11-21(二) | Agents Chapter 5 Key Concepts: Agent properties |
| 12 | 2023-11-28(二) | In-class Reporting and Work on Personal Model Projects Students Lead the Class in Seminar Format |
| 13 | 2023-12-05(二) | Environments Chapter 5 |
| 14 | 2023-12-12(二) | In-class Reporting and Work on Personal Model Designs Students Lead the Class in Seminar Format |
| 15 | 2023-12-19(二) | Interactions Chapter 5 |
| 16 | 2023-12-26(二) | In-class Reporting and Work on Personal Model Outcomes Students Lead the Class in Seminar Format |
| 17 | 2024-01-02(二) | Testing Final Model(s) Design Portfolio Submitted |