13,375 research outputs found
Agent-based Computational Economics: a Methodological Appraisal
This paper is an overview of "Agent-based Computational Economics (ACE)", an emerging approach to the study of decentralized market economies, in methodological perspective. It summarizes similarities and differences with respect to conventional economic models, outlines the unique methodological characteristics of this approach, and discusses its implications for economic methodology as a whole. While ACE rejoins the reflection on the unintended social consequences of purposeful individual action which is constitutive of economics as a discipline, the paper shows that it complements state-of the-art research in experimental and behavioral economics. In particular, the methods and techniques of ACE have reinforced the laboratory finding that fundamental economic results rely less on rational choice theory than is usually assumed, and have provided insight into the importance of market structures and rules in addition to individual choice. In addition, ACE has enlarged the range of inter-individual interactions that are of interest for economists. In this perspective, ACE provides the economistâs toolbox with valuable supplements to existing economic techniques rather than proposing a radical alternative. Despite some open methodological questions, it has potential for better integration into economics in the future.Agent-based Computational Economics, Economic Methodology, Experimental Economics.
Experimental Simulations and Tort Reform: Avoidance, Error and Overreaching in Sunstein Et Al.âs âPunitive Damagesâ
This article addresses tort reform claims made in Cass R. Sunstein, et al.\u27s Punitive Damages: How Juries Decide (2002)and related articles, research that was largely underwritten by the Exxon Corporation. Based upon a series of simulation experiments, those authors have made a general claim that juries are incapable of making coherent judgments about punitive damages. In this article I raise serious methodological problems bearing on the validity of the research, and, therefore, its ability to provide judges and legislators with useful information about juries and punitive damages
Data-driven modelling of biological multi-scale processes
Biological processes involve a variety of spatial and temporal scales. A
holistic understanding of many biological processes therefore requires
multi-scale models which capture the relevant properties on all these scales.
In this manuscript we review mathematical modelling approaches used to describe
the individual spatial scales and how they are integrated into holistic models.
We discuss the relation between spatial and temporal scales and the implication
of that on multi-scale modelling. Based upon this overview over
state-of-the-art modelling approaches, we formulate key challenges in
mathematical and computational modelling of biological multi-scale and
multi-physics processes. In particular, we considered the availability of
analysis tools for multi-scale models and model-based multi-scale data
integration. We provide a compact review of methods for model-based data
integration and model-based hypothesis testing. Furthermore, novel approaches
and recent trends are discussed, including computation time reduction using
reduced order and surrogate models, which contribute to the solution of
inference problems. We conclude the manuscript by providing a few ideas for the
development of tailored multi-scale inference methods.Comment: This manuscript will appear in the Journal of Coupled Systems and
Multiscale Dynamics (American Scientific Publishers
The particularity of emotional words. A grounded approach
This work focuses on emotional concepts. We define concepts as patterns of neural activation
that re-enact a given external or internal experience, for example the interoceptive experience related to
fear. Concepts are mediated and expressed through words. In the following, we will use âwordsâ to refer
to word meanings, assuming that words mediate underlying concepts. Since emotional concepts and the
words that mediate them are less related to the physical environment than concrete ones, at first sight
they might be depicted as abstract concepts. Evidence coming from several studies shows, instead, that
the issue is more complex. In this work, we will briefly outline the debate and illustrate results from recent
studies on comprehension of concrete, emotional and abstract words in children and adults. We will argue
that emotional words can be accounted for from a grounded perspective and will contend that emotional
words represent a particular set of words that differs from both the concrete and purely abstract ones
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