From Social Simulation to Integrative System Design

As the recent financial crisis showed, today there is a strong need to gain "ecological perspective" of all relevant interactions in socio-economic-techno-environmental systems. For this, we suggested to set-up a network of Centers for integrative systems design, which shall be able to run all potentially relevant scenarios, identify causality chains, explore feedback and cascading effects for a number of model variants, and determine the reliability of their implications (given the validity of the underlying models). They will be able to detect possible negative side effect of policy decisions, before they occur. The Centers belonging to this network of Integrative Systems Design Centers would be focused on a particular field, but they would be part of an attempt to eventually cover all relevant areas of society and economy and integrate them within a "Living Earth Simulator". The results of all research activities of such Centers would be turned into informative input for political Decision Arenas. For example, Crisis Observatories (for financial instabilities, shortages of resources, environmental change, conflict, spreading of diseases, etc.) would be connected with such Decision Arenas for the purpose of visualization, in order to make complex interdependencies understandable to scientists, decision-makers, and the general public.Comment: 34 pages, Visioneer White Paper, see http://www.visioneer.ethz.c

A Survey on Modeling of Human States in Communication Behavior

The Technical Committee on Communication BehaviorEngineering addresses the research question How do we construct a com-munication network system that includes users?. The growth in highlyfunctional networks and terminals has brought about greater diversity inusers\u27 lifestyles and freed people from the restrictions of time and place.Under this situation, the similarities of human behavior cause traffic aggre-gation and generate new problems in terms of the stabilization of networkservice quality. This paper summarizes previous studies relevant to com-munication behavior from a multidisciplinary perspective and discusses theresearch approach adopted by the Technical Committee on CommunicationBehavior Engineering

IE WP 20/03 An Evolutionary Approach to the Process of Technology Diffusion and Standardization

The study described here aims to make a threefold contribution to the analysis of technology diffusion. First of all, it tries to offer a new approach to the study of the dynamic of innovation diffusion, not from the traditional perspective of the rate at which one new technology is fully adopted, but the extent of the diffusion of several technologies and the related phenomenon of standardization. Secondly, it aims to show a broadened and evolutionary view of the process of technology standardization, avoiding the habitual determinism of conventional models of technology diffusion and lock-in. Finally, it tries to identify and evaluate the relationships existing between the main characteristics of industries and the attributes of the technology standardization processes in them. To achieve these goals we have developed an agent based model (ABM), using distributed artificial intelligence (DAI) concepts drawn from the general methodology of social simulation.Technology diffusion; standardization; lock-in; evolutionary models; agent-based models

Advancing research for seamless Earth system prediction

Whether on an urban or planetary scale, covering time scales of a few minutes or a few decades, the societal need for more accurate weather, climate, water, and environmental information has led to a more seamless thinking across disciplines and communities. This challenge, at the intersection of scientific research and society’s need, is among the most important scientific and technological challenges of our time. The “Science Summit on Seamless Research for Weather, Climate, Water, and Environment” organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 2017, has brought together researchers from a variety of institutions for a cross-disciplinary exchange of knowledge and ideas relating to seamless Earth system science. The outcomes of the Science Summit, and the interactions it sparked, highlight the benefit of a seamless Earth system science approach. Such an approach has the potential to break down artificial barriers that may exist due to different observing systems, models, time and space scales, and compartments of the Earth system. In this context, the main future challenges for research infrastructures have been identified. A value cycle approach has been proposed to guide innovation in seamless Earth system prediction. The engagement of researchers, users, and stakeholders will be crucial for the successful development of a seamless Earth system science that meets the needs of society

Resocializing digital water transformations : outlining social science perspectives on the digital water journey

Funding information: National Cyber Security Centre; Scottish Government, Grant/Award Number: Hydro Nation Scholars; University of Manchester, Grant/Award Number: Presidential fellowship; University of Manchester, Grant/Award Number: SEED PGR scholarship (Amankwaa).Digital water transformation is often written about as though universally desirable and inevitable, capable of addressing the multifaceted socioecological challenges that water systems face. However, there is not widespread reflection on the complexities, tensions and unintended consequences of digital transformation, its social and political dimensions are often neglected. This article introduces case studies of digital water development, bringing examples of technological innovation into dialogue with literature and empirical research from across the social sciences. We examine how Big Data affects our observations of water in society to shape water management, how the Internet of Things becomes involved in reproducing unjust water politics, how digital platforms are entangled in the varied sociocultural landscape of everyday water use, and how opensource technologies provide new possibilities for participatory water governance. We also reflect on regulatory developments and the possible trajectories of innovation resulting from public‐private sector interactions. A socially and politically informed view of digital water is essential for just and sustainable development, and the gap between industry visions of digital water and research within the social sciences is inhibitive. Thus, the analysis presented in this article provides a novel, pluralistic perspective on digital water development and outlines what is required for more inclusive future scholarship, policy and practice.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe