Peng Lu and his colleague identify the unification conditions of human civilization patterns in ancient China using ABM
Peng Lu and his colleague identify the unification conditions of human civilization patterns in ancient China using ABMRecently, Prof. Peng Lu and his colleague publish a paper on AAS. In this paper, they use an agent-based model to identify the unification conditions of human civilization patterns in ancient China. Abstract：The series of unified empires or dynasties in the history of China (221 BC–1912 AD) have shaped the unification pattern of Chinese culture. Therefore, the eastern civilization (China) can be deemed as a unified culture. In the geographical scope of China in East Asia, there is a stable and continuous history process of one-by-one unified dynasties (empires). Between two old and new unified dynasties in the history of China, there are always chaotic (transitional) periods when several local regimes competed for the absolute power of China (the Mandate of Heaven). In these transitional periods, wars and annexations are always inevitable. Then, only one loc...

Peng Lu and his colleagues explored Individual behaviors, social learning, and swarm intelligence by using a real case and counterfactuals
Peng Lu and his colleagues explored Individual behaviors, social learning, and swarm intelligence by using a real case and counterfactualsNovember 30, 2022, Prof. Peng Lu and his colleagues published a paper on Expert Systems With Applications. In this paper, they use the mass shooting case, as a typical category of common risks (social disasters), and use two-round simulations to achieve the research goal which is to calculate social knowledge, based on which social welfare can be enhanced, and to use social knowledge to improve social welfare. Abstract：It is hard for individuals to handle social common risk, such as terrorism attacks (mass shooting). However, it can be contained, if they can be organized and behave intelligently. To obtain this swarm intelligence pattern, social knowledge should be captured to guide behaviors of isolated individuals. Here, we explore how swarm intelligence can be achieved by individual behaviors during social learning process. We have solv...

Review of food security simulation models in Nature Food

Review of food security simulation models in Nature FoodPhD candidate Aleid Teeuwen, Assistant Professor Dr. Yue Dou, and colleagues at NRS department, faculty ITC, University of Twente in the Netherlands has a review paper “A systematic review of the impact of food security governance measures as simulated in modelling studies” in Nature Food. In this review, she compared 110 different simulation studies, only 24 looked at policy in the form of campaigns, education, and training. “It appears to be a blind spot for many policy researchers in the field of food security,” says Teeuwen, “And that’s a shame since more research into these forms of policy will allow us to better predict their impact.” The review also found that models often focus on producers only, where the majority of the other stakeholders in food systems (e.g., consumers, value-chains) are overlooked. Furthermore, simulation models fail to investigate spatial and social targeted policies. These gaps form blind spots o... Read more

Zhou HE and his team proposed strategies for restaurants in O2O markets using an agent-based model
Zhou HE and his team proposed strategies for restaurants in O2O markets using an agent-based modelProf. Zhou HE and his team published a paper in the International Journal of Production Economics. This paper uses an agent-based model to put forward the optimist decisions of independent restaurants in O2O food ordering and delivery markets. Abstract: In the booming online-to-offline (O2O) food ordering and delivery market, numerous independent restaurants are competing for orders placed by customers via online food ordering platforms. The food quality and location decisions are deemed the two principal considerations of restaurants in this emerging market. To investigate restaurants’ evolutionary food quality and location behaviors, we propose an agent-based O2O food ordering model (AOFOM) consisting of three types of agents: customers, restaurants, and the online food ordering platform. We explicitly model their adaptive behaviors by optimizing the agents’ benefits. We find that cus...

Dehua Gao and his colleague identify the impact of artifacts-based exploration and exploitation on routines’ formation dynamics using ABM
Dehua Gao and his colleague identify the impact of artifacts-based exploration and exploitation on routines’ formation dynamics using ABMRecently, Prof. Dehua Gao and his colleague publish a paper on JASSS. In this paper, they use an agent-based model to identify the impact of artifacts-based exploration and exploitation on routines’ formation dynamics. Abstract：Organizational routines are at the core in capturing the typical way of how organizations accomplish their tasks. This paper primarily summarizes the development of scholars’ understanding of the crucial role that artifacts and the materiality play during the course of routines. We then focus on the material artifacts-based exploration and exploitation carried out by multiple human actors, and create a link between individual situated actions at the micro-level and the collective outcome as patterned routines. This discloses the underlying logic between human actors’ exploration and exploitation of material artifacts...

Hang Xiong and his team reveal the mechanisms underlying farmers' land transfer
Hang Xiong and his team reveal the mechanisms underlying farmers’ land transferRecently, Prof. Hang Xiong and his team publish a paper on Management World (one of the top Chinese journal in management and economic science). In this paper, they use an agent-based model to reveal the mechanisms underlying farmers’ decision-making in spontaneous farmland transfer and bottom-up farmland concentration at the village level. Abstract: Profound understanding of the mechanisms underlying farmers’ land transfer decision-making is of great importance for improving farmland transfer policies. However, the existing studies focus on the results of land transfer and lack in-depth investigation of the decision-making process and behavioral mechanisms. This study uses a simulation model to simulate the behavior rules and dynamic processes of farmers’ land transfer under the background of urbanization and rural aging. Being calibrated with real data, the model is validated by matching its out...

Hang Xiong and Georgiy Bobashev present at the Second Annual IGSS Workshop
Hang Xiong and Georgiy Bobashev present at the Second Annual IGSS WorkshopOn June 10, 2021, Prof. Hang Xiong (Huazhong Agricultural University), and Dr. Georgiy Bobashev (RTI International) were invited to participate in the Second Annual IGSS (Inverse Generative Social Science) Workshop, and give a presentation on “Testing hypotheses in Agent-based models”. “Computer simulations have the potential to provide a new approach to testing empirical hypotheses for social sciences studies. We present a method for conducting computational hypotheses using agent-based and microsimulation models. The computational hypothesis could be expressed in the form of structural parameters being equal to zero. Considering computational uncertainty intervals from simulation models instead of traditional confidence intervals in data-based hypothesis setting we can infer whether certain computational structures are indistinguishable from noise. The Occam razor principle becomes important especially when ...

熊航教授受邀参加海南大学“大数据驱动的跨学科农业经济研究”的学术讲座
熊航教授受邀参加海南大学“大数据驱动的跨学科农业经济研究”的学术讲座2020年1月3日，借助冬季小学期平台，华中农业大学经济管理学院教授、农业大数据与智慧农业研究中心主任、宏观农业研究院独立PI熊航老师应邀为我院师生做题为“大数据驱动的跨学科农业经济研究”的学术讲座。我院教师、部分研究生、本科生参加讲座，农经系朱月季副教授主持讲座。 在讲座中，熊航教授首先讲述了农业大数据在农业经济研究中运用的基本原理，包括农业大数据的跨学科协作、大数据背景下的农业经济研究实践及智慧农业技术采用等内容。 其次，熊航教授详细介绍了基于ABM的Netlog仿真实践。熊航教授带领同学们应用Netlog软件构建简单仿真模型，通过模型构建过程详细讲述了仿真模型的建模思想、在Netlog软件中建模的基本操作及仿真模型在各学科中的应用。最后，熊航教授和大家分享了仿真方法在未来研究中的需求，鼓励师生们在未来学习中使用仿真方法及思想解决问题。 专家简介：现任华中农业大学经济管理学院教授、农业大数据与智慧农业研究中心主任，宏观农业研究院独立PI。都柏林大学经济学博士，曾任伦敦大学国王学院计算地理研究所副研究员、苏黎世联邦理工大学农业经济与政策研究所研究员。主要运用计算机仿真、复杂网络分析、空间计量分析等方法从事农业大数据、智慧农业、农业技术扩散、人与自然耦合农业系统等话题的研究，在《Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation》、《Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics》、《农业技术经济》等国内外重要期刊发表20余篇。