Description
Overview
In this assignment, you will use NetLogo or a general purpose language to create an agent-based model (ABM) of a complex phenomenon. You will conduct this work as part of a group (of three people). This assignment is intended to give you greater freedom to apply the knowledge and skills you are acquiring in this subject to a domain of interest to you.
The objectives of this assignment are to gain experience in:
- identifying a research question of scientific or policy interest;
- designing an appropriate ABM and experiments to address a specific question;
- communicating the design of your model, and the results of your investigation; • collaborating over an extended period of time to execute a substantial piece of work.
Background
Agent-based models can be used to model a broad range of systems in the real world. You are free to choose a topic of interest to you for this assignment. While the work you submit (proposal, report and model code) must be that of your group, I am happy for topics and questions to be discussed with me, with each other, in class, in tutorials, and on the Discussion Board.
To get you started, a list of possible topics are provided at the end of this specification. Note that any of these example topics could each be used as the basis for many possible questions, and could potentially lead to very complex models. However, bear in mind the time constraint on this project: You should start by aiming for a single question that can be addressed using a relatively simple model. It is far more important to address a simple question well than to address a complex question poorly. If your initial question and model go well, you can always elaborate your question and extend your model.
In terms of model complexity: as a baseline, your model should involve some form of non-trivial agent behaviour and interaction between agents, such that you can identify and measure some interesting emergent behaviour of the system.
