creators_name: Edmonds, Bruce
type: preprint
datestamp: 2005-04-20
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:55:58
metadata_visibility: show
title: How are physical and social spaces related?
– cognitive agents as the necessary “glue”
subjects: socsim
subjects: soc-psy
full_text_status: public
keywords: space, geography, social network, segragation, water demand, fear, agents, social simulation
note: Presented at the "topical workshop on agent-based computational modelling " in Vienna, Decmber 2003.  A version to be published in a book based around this workshop.
abstract: There have been very few models which explicitly include actions and effects within a physical space as well as communication and action within a social space.  This paper argues that such models will be necessary if we are to understand how and why human entities organise themselves in physical space.  A consequence of such models will involve a move away from relatively simple individual-based simulations towards more complex agent-based simulations due to the necessary encapsulation of the agents who act in space and communicate with peers.  Thus some sort of cognitive agency will be necessary to connect the communication with the action of the individuals.  This parallels Carley’s call for social network models to be agentified (Carley).

Thus this paper argues that such agency will be unavoidable in adequate models of the spatial distribution of human-related actors and, further, that the spaces within which action and communication occur will have to be, at least somewhat, distinct.  Thus the burdon of proof is upon those modellers who omit such aspects. 

To establish the potential importance of the interplay between social and physical spaces, and to illustrate the approach I am suggesting, I exhibit a couple of agent-based simulations which involve both physical and social spaces.  The first of these is an abstract model whose purpose is simply to show how the topology of the social space can have a direct influence upon spatial self-organisation, and the second is a more descriptive model which aims to show how a suitable agent-based model may inform observation of social phenomena by suggesting questions and issues that need to be investigated.
date: 2003
date_type: published
refereed: TRUE
referencetext: Carley, K. (2003) Dynamic Network Theory,  In ….

Downing, T.E, Butterfield, R.E., Edmonds, B., Knox, J.W., Moss, S., Piper, B.S. and Weatherhead, E.K. (and the CCDeW project team) (2003). Climate Change and the Demand for Water, Research Report, Stockholm Environment Institute Oxford Office, Oxford. (http://www.sei.se/oxford/ccdew/)

Edmonds, B. (1999) Capturing Social Embeddedness: a Constructivist Approach. Adaptive Behaviour 7:323-348.

Edmonds, B. and Hales, D. (2003) Computational Simulation as Theoretical Experiment, CPM report 03-106, MMU, UK. (http://cfpm.org/cpmrep106.html)

KISS to KIDs

Edmonds, B. Barthelemy, O. and Moss, S. (2002) Domestic Water Demand and Social Influence – an agent-based modelling approach, CPM Report 02-103, MMU, 2002 (http://cfpm.org/cpmrep103.html).

Granovetter, M. (1985) Economic-Action and Social-Structure – The Problem of Embeddedness. American Journal Of Sociology 91:481-510.

Moss and Edmonds

Polhill, J.G. , Gotts, N.M.  and Law, A.N.R.  (2001) Imitative Versus Non-Imitative Strategies in a Land Use Simulation. Cybernetics and Systems 32:285-307.

Schelling, T. (1969) Models of Segregation. American Economic Review 59:488-493.

Sudman, S. (1988) Experiments in Measuring Neighbor and Relative Social Networks.  Social Networks 10:93-108.

Watts, D. J.  (1999) Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks between Order and Randomness. Princeton University Press.

Wellman, B. (1996) Are personal communities local? A Dumptarian reconsideration.  Social Networks 18:347-354.
citation:   Edmonds, Dr Bruce  (2003) How are physical and social spaces related? – cognitive agents as the necessary “glue”.  [Preprint]     
document_url: http://cogprints.org/4261/1/hapassr.pdf
document_url: http://cogprints.org/4261/2/hapassr.html