A Survey of Agent-Based Modeling Practices (January 1998 to July 2008)

In the 1990s, Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) began gaining popularity and represents a departure from the more classical simulation approaches. This departure, its recent development and its increasing application by non-traditional simulation disciplines indicates the need to continuously assess the current state of ABM and identify opportunities for improvement. To begin to satisfy this need, we surveyed and collected data from 279 articles from 92 unique publication outlets in which the authors had constructed and analyzed an agent-based model. From this large data set we establish the current practice of ABM in terms of year of publication, field of study, simulation software used, purpose of the simulation, acceptable validation criteria, validation techniques and complete description of the simulation. Based on the current practice we discuss six improvements needed to advance ABM as an analysis tool. These improvements include the development of ABM specific tools that are independent of software, the development of ABM as an independent discipline with a common language that extends across domains, the establishment of expectations for ABM that match their intended purposes, the requirement of complete descriptions of the simulation so others can independently replicate the results, the requirement that all models be completely validated and the development and application of statistical and non-statistical validation techniques specifically for ABM.Agent-Based Modeling, Survey, Current Practices, Simulation Validation, Simulation Purpose

The conceptual origins of managerialism: A review of the beliefs and practices in the public administration literature

This study examines and discusses the concept of managerialism and related themes and phenomena such as new public management in the context of the administrative reforms of the last decades. So far, the theory of managerialism has remained relatively undeveloped and various conceptualisations vary signifi-cantly and thus a possibility for creating new knowledge and a basis for theory exists. The research problem is threefold: 1) What is meant by managerialism? 2) What kind of form does man-agerialism take as it is examined as a belief? 3) What kind of implications are associated to managerial-ism in the context of practical administration and management activities? To answer these research prob-lems, the study takes a qualitative approach and examines selected conceptualisations of managerialism and identifies, examines and discusses various managerialist approaches and practices in the context of scientific literature mainly from the 1990’s and the second millennium. The results show that managerialism has become a category into which a large number of approaches and methods are placed. It is used in connection with administrative reforms in the context of new public management, and there seems to be a consensus that it involves import of techniques and approaches utilised in private sector to the public sector and that it is connected with improving efficiency and effec-tiveness of public sector organisations. However, perceptions differ in terms of the purpose and conse-quences of managerialism. While others see it as a reaction to changes (e.g. globalisation) and a tool for defending the welfare state, others perceive that it is a driver of change and a tool for introducing market-oriented, neo-liberal political rationality to the public sector. The academic debate and discussion on managerialism and the administrative reforms has included a great amount of ideological postulating. While at the other end of the extreme some suggest a far-reaching right-wing plot to undermine welfare state and advance neo-liberal worldview, others on the opposite side embrace the market analogy unconditionally despite of the existing compatibility problems. The study revealed a vast network of interconnected ideas woven around the central ideological currents of European history from the Enlightment through modernisation of state to contemporary, postmodern époque. It would appear that underlying managerialism exist themes connected to liberalism, individual-ism, suspicion of extensive regulation, negative view on traditional bureaucracies, continuous develop-ment and optimisation of organisations and economic rationalism.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Analyzing the communication and coordination processes in Sabiha Gökçen International Airport's new terminal building wayfinding project

Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, Architecture, İzmir, 2011Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 105-108)Text in English;Abstract: Turkish and Englishxiv, 162 leaves.Coordination is the third main function following design and construction in the building process. It is a sensitive managerial activity involving well-defined procedures and smooth flow of communication in all directions to achieve project objectives. This study builds on existing coordination theory and utilizes the four key coordination processes defined by Malone and Crowston (1994): (1) Managing shared resources (2) Managing producer-consumer relationship (3) Managing simultaneity constraints (4) Managing task/subtask dependencies. Four processes were interpreted and operationalized for the study of the e-mail data obtained from the wayfinding project coordination of new terminal building of Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. The organizational schema of the wayfinding project defined the e-mail communication analysis to be among the contractors, consultant and the design firm. Social network analysis is conducted for network centrality measures. Degree, betweenness and closeness centrality values are calculated for each project participant. There are three major findings from these analyses. First finding suggests that centrally positioned Wayfinding and Signage Design Project Contractor in the organization schema shows more coordination. Second finding suggests that task/subtask dependencies, producer-consumer relationship, simultaneity constraints and shared resources need respectively more coordination effort to manage in a wayfinding project. Third finding shows e-mail communication has a profound effect on coordination. The implications of these findings mean that companies involved in design and construction process may consider providing new approaches affecting dayto-to-day interactions depending on the power of new technological coordination mechanism

Engineering handbook

2004 handbook for the faculty of Engineerin

Engineering handbook

2004 handbook for the faculty of Engineerin

Überblick zur Softwareentwicklung in Wissenschaftlichen Anwendungen

Viele wissenschaftliche Disziplinen müssen heute immer komplexer werdende numerische Probleme lösen. Die Komplexität der benutzten wissenschaftlichen Software steigt dabei kontinuierlich an. Diese Komplexitätssteigerung wird durch eine ganze Reihe sich ändernder Anforderungen verursacht: Die Betrachtung gekoppelter Phänomene gewinnt Aufmerksamkeit und gleichzeitig müssen neue Technologien wie das Grid-Computing oder neue Multiprozessorarchitekturen genutzt werden, um weiterhin in angemessener Zeit zu Berechnungsergebnissen zu kommen. Diese Fülle an neuen Anforderungen kann nicht mehr von kleinen spezialisierten Wissenschaftlergruppen in Isolation bewältigt werden. Die Entwicklung wissenschaftlicher Software muss vielmehr in interdisziplinären Gruppen geschehen, was neue Herausforderungen in der Softwareentwicklung induziert. Ein Paradigmenwechsel zu einer stärkeren Separation von Verantwortlichkeiten innerhalb interdisziplinärer Entwicklergruppen ist bis jetzt in vielen Fällen nur in Ansätzen erkennbar. Die Kopplung partitioniert durchgeführter Simulationen physikalischer Phänomene ist ein wichtiges Beispiel für softwaretechnisch herausfordernde Aufgaben im Gebiet des wissenschaftlichen Rechnens. In diesem Kontext modellieren verschiedene Simulationsprogramme unterschiedliche Teile eines komplexeren gekoppelten Systems. Die vorliegende Arbeit gibt einen Überblick über Paradigmen, die darauf abzielen Softwareentwicklung für Berechnungsprogramme verlässlicher und weniger abhängig voneinander zu machen. Ein spezielles Augenmerk liegt auf der Entwicklung gekoppelter Simulationen.Fields of modern science and engineering are in need of solving more and more complex numerical problems. The complexity of scientific software thereby rises continuously. This growth is caused by a number of changing requirements. Coupled phenomena gain importance and new technologies like the computational Grid, graphical and heterogeneous multi-core processors have to be used to achieve high-performance. The amount of additional complexity can not be handled by small groups of specialised scientists. The interdiciplinary nature of scientific software thereby presents new challanges for software engineering. A paradigm shift towards a stronger separation of concerns becomes necessary in the development of future scientific software. The coupling of independently simulated physical phenomena is an important example for a software-engineering concern in the domain of computational science. In this context, different simulation-programs model only a part of a more complex coupled system. The present work gives overview on paradigms which aim at making software-development in computational sciences more reliable and less interdependent. A special focus is put on the development of coupled simulations