Developing an agent-based model on how different individuals solve complex problems

Purpose: Research that focuses on the emotional, mental, behavioral and cognitive capabilities of individuals has been abundant within disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, among others. However, when facing complex problems, a new perspective to understand individuals is necessary. The main purpose of this paper is to develop an agentbased model and simulation to gain understanding on the decision-making and problem-solving abilities of individuals. Design/methodology/approach: The micro-level analysis modeling and simulation paradigm Agent-Based Modeling Through the use of Agent-Based Modeling, insight is gained on how different individuals with different profiles deal with complex problems. Using previous literature from different bodies of knowledge, established theories and certain assumptions as input parameters, a model is built and executed through a computer simulation. Findings: The results indicate that individuals with certain profiles have better capabilities to deal with complex problems. Moderate profiles could solve the entire complex problem, whereas profiles within extreme conditions could not. This indicates that having a strong predisposition is not the ideal way when approaching complex problems, and there should always be a component from the other perspective. The probability that an individual may use these capabilities provided by the opposite predisposition provides to be a useful option.Originality/value: The originality of the present research stems from how individuals are profiled, and the model and simulation that is built to understand how they solve complex problems. The development of the agent-based model adds value to the existing body of knowledge within both social sciences, and modeling and simulation.Peer Reviewe

Developing a Philosophical Profile of the Individual for Complex Problem-Solving Through Agent-Based Modeling

Research that focuses on the emotional, mental, behavioral and cognitive capabilities of individuals has been abundant within disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, among others. The main argument made in this dissertation, however, is that a different perspective is necessary in order to gain insight about individuals when facing the complex problems that are presented within engineering and management disciplines. This is done by developing the Philosophical Profile of the Individual (PPI) that uses epistemology, ontology and teleology as underlying dimensions of philosophical predispositions. The epistemology dimension considers whether an individual is an Empiricist or a Rationalist, the ontology dimension consists of the Substantive and Process predispositions, and the teleology dimension represents whether the individual is goal-oriented or not. By using these three dimensions, researchers may understand how an individual chooses to acquire knowledge about a certain problem, how an individual defines a problem and how the purpose towards a certain future is obtained

Developing an agent-based model on how different individuals solve complex problems

Purpose: Research that focuses on the emotional, mental, behavioral and cognitive capabilities of individuals has been abundant within disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, among others. However, when facing complex problems, a new perspective to understand individuals is necessary. The main purpose of this paper is to develop an agentbased model and simulation to gain understanding on the decision-making and problem-solving abilities of individuals. Design/methodology/approach: The micro-level analysis modeling and simulation paradigm Agent-Based Modeling Through the use of Agent-Based Modeling, insight is gained on how different individuals with different profiles deal with complex problems. Using previous literature from different bodies of knowledge, established theories and certain assumptions as input parameters, a model is built and executed through a computer simulation. Findings: The results indicate that individuals with certain profiles have better capabilities to deal with complex problems. Moderate profiles could solve the entire complex problem, whereas profiles within extreme conditions could not. This indicates that having a strong predisposition is not the ideal way when approaching complex problems, and there should always be a component from the other perspective. The probability that an individual may use these capabilities provided by the opposite predisposition provides to be a useful option.Originality/value: The originality of the present research stems from how individuals are profiled, and the model and simulation that is built to understand how they solve complex problems. The development of the agent-based model adds value to the existing body of knowledge within both social sciences, and modeling and simulation.Peer Reviewe

Rapid Sensor Technology: A Risk and System Complexity Analyses of Early Detection of Influenza-Like-Illnesses

The development of effective and reliable methods to defend the nation against biological terrorism remains an urgent challenge to researchers in the areas of risk, bio-defense, public health, and emergency medicine. The emerging threat of the avian flu pandemic also highlights the unpreparedness of our nation\u27s health care system to meet a highly contagious and infectious disease outbreak. The implementation of a rapid sensor technology for early detection of influenza-like-illness provides possible opportunities, as well as problems. Bounding and defining such a complex problem is one of the first challenges this research addresses. Approaching this problem from various perspectives such as risk management, critical infrastructures and emergency medicine proves to be a valid strategy for an efficient solution. After defining the problem and laying out a strategy, discussions on possible tools and techniques for the solution of the problem is presented in this paper, together with the compounding sources of and issues with complexity

System of Systems Perspective on Risk: Towards a Unified Concept

Many systems and projects that concern systems engineers, engineering managers, and business managers today can be defined as system of systems (SoS), which are described as ambiguous, uncertain and dynamic, among others. In addition to the traditional view on risk identification, analysis and management, the concept of risk should be considered with respect to these systems of systems. The purpose of this paper is to analyse both fundamental concepts and recent publications in system of systems, business and engineering management, as well as risk analysis, modelling, and management for the purpose of better describing the concept of risk with respect to system of systems. The ultimate goal is to provide engineering and business managers the necessary perspective on the concept of risk and its management for the next generation of systems – including various descriptions of risk and discussion of the relevance of properties of system of systems to sustainable management of risks in engineered systems. To achieve a truly sustainable management of risk, there has to be a change in paradigm from a traditional description of risk to that of a more holistic perspective

An Understanding of the Application of Research Methods in Engineering Management

In this article, the use of research methods in the field of Engineering Management is analyzed. For this study, a database was formed by using articles from three journals in the Engineering Management field: the Engineering Management Journal (EMJ), the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and the Journal of Engineering and Technology Management (JETM). Articles written between 1999 and 2003 were analyzed and an Engineering Management research position map was developed to describe holistically the research methods being used in Engineering Management. No judgment on the Engineering Management field per se was undertaken as a result of this study. Instead, its findings are presented as groundwork for future investigations on effective methods to execute Engineering Management research

Identification and Implementation of Patterns Towards a Model of Environmental Sustainability

Much like the Quality Revolution did in the 1980\u27s, corporate sustainability has the potential to drive significant changes in the processes and structure of various organizations in the coming decade. With a rapidly growing global population and an ever increasing global demand for resources (Population-Resource-Center, 2012). Sustainability has emerged as one of the primary challenges that organizations will have to deal with in the 21st century. An increasing realization among business executives that profitability by itself is not enough as a measure of success is also driving the increased adoption of sustainable practices in the corporate world (Lowitt and Grimsley, 2009). Many of the non-financial concerns associated with sustainability are being rapidly recognized as ways to provide shareholder value in the long run. Although sustainability in the corporate world should emphasize economic, environmental and social sustainability, in this paper we will concentrate on the environmental issue and present a new model of best-of-breed practices for implementing environmental sustainability into an organization. To help develop this model we will examine the current literature, including a review of various case studies of corporations engaging in environmentally sustainable practices. We aim to identify practices that have been successful in various organizations and can be generalized and applied to other corporations. We believe that such a model can contribute to the understanding of, and the successful implementation of, environmentally sustainable practices throughout the corporate world

Developing an agent-based model on how different individuals solve complex problems

Purpose: Research that focuses on the emotional, mental, behavioral and cognitive capabilities of individuals has been abundant within disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, among others. However, when facing complex problems, a new perspective to understand individuals is necessary. The main purpose of this paper is to develop an agentbased model and simulation to gain understanding on the decision-making and problem-solving abilities of individuals. Design/methodology/approach: The micro-level analysis modeling and simulation paradigm Agent-Based Modeling Through the use of Agent-Based Modeling, insight is gained on how different individuals with different profiles deal with complex problems. Using previous literature from different bodies of knowledge, established theories and certain assumptions as input parameters, a model is built and executed through a computer simulation. Findings: The results indicate that individuals with certain profiles have better capabilities to deal with complex problems. Moderate profiles could solve the entire complex problem, whereas profiles within extreme conditions could not. This indicates that having a strong predisposition is not the ideal way when approaching complex problems, and there should always be a component from the other perspective. The probability that an individual may use these capabilities provided by the opposite predisposition provides to be a useful option.Originality/value: The originality of the present research stems from how individuals are profiled, and the model and simulation that is built to understand how they solve complex problems. The development of the agent-based model adds value to the existing body of knowledge within both social sciences, and modeling and simulation

Legal advocacy as a feminist activism strategy

102 pagesThesis attempts to analyze that after femicide of Münevver Karabulut, systematic legal advocacy for violence against women, femicide and women’s self-defense litigation cases, all together defined as women’s cases, emerged as feminist activism method. Due to increase in violence against women in 1990s, feminist movement started following number of women’s cases. Since organizations following such cases did not specifically concentrate on legal advocacy and their structural organizations were not sustainable, they either ceased their existence or discontinued their legal advocacy work. Following 2009, We Will Stop Femicide Platform’s attendance to all hearings, pot-hearing press releases to inform the public about developments, utilization of its advocacy experience to present political requests, collectively manifest that its legal advocacy evolved to activism with political mobility. The research analyzes how feminist movement designs its relationship with law and its benefits from such relationship to evaluate how feminist movement translates its criticism against implementation of normative law to feminist activism. Feminist lawyers’ inclusion of feminist discourse, elaborations on gender based discrimination and women’s experiences of violence to litigation, ensures that legal process is not constrained to normative law. Legal advocacy enables translation of feminist theory into practice, connection of women from different backgrounds, transformation of gendered minded judges through their subjection to women’s stories and accounts of their systemic violence experiences. As such, through legal advocacy activism, feminist movement ensures that law is not a sphere where gendered based discrimination is produced but transforms litigation process to a site of combat whose elements are redefined.Bu tez 2009 yılında Münevver Karabulut’un öldürülmesinden sonra Türkiye’de kadına karşı şiddet, kadın cinayeti ve kadın öz savunma davalarının, kısaca kadın davalarının, sistematik şekilde takip edilmesinin bir feminist aktivizm yöntemi olarak ortaya çıktığını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Feminist hareketin, kadına karşı şiddetin arttığı 1990’ların sonlarından itibaren farklı kolektifler altında münferit kadın davalarını takip etmesi söz konusu olmuştur. Fakat kadın davalarını takip eden oluşumların çalışma odaklarının sadece kadın davaları olmamaları ve oluşumların kurumsal bir yapıda, süreklilik göstererek örgütlenmemeleri nedeni ile, oluşumlar organik olarak ortadan kalkmış veya kadın davaları takiplerine devam etmemişlerdir. 2009’dan sonra ise Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu’nun kadın davalarının tüm duruşmalarına katılması, duruşmalar hakkında kamuoyuna bilgi vermesi ve kadına yönelik şiddet verilerini iktidara karşı kadın haklarına yönelik politik taleplerde bulunmak için kullanması dava takip sürecinin politik eylemlilik içeren bir aktivizme dönüştüğünü göstermektedir. Araştırma, kadın davalarının takipleri sırasında feminist hareketin hukuk ile ilişkisini nasıl kurguladığını ve bu ilişkiden nasıl fayda sağladığını inceleyerek, feminist hareketin normatif hukukun uygulanmasına ilişkin eleştirilerini feminist aktivizme tercüme etmesini değerlendirmektedir. Feminist avukatların yargılamalara dahil ettikleri feminist tartışmalar, toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğini ortaya koyan açıklamalar ve kadınların şiddet hikayeleri, yargılamaların içeriğinin normatif hukuk ile sınırlı kalmamasını sağlamıştır. Dava takipleri, yargılamalar sırasında feminist teorinin pratik hale tercüme edilmesi, farklı siyasi ve sosyal tercihleri olan kadınların birbiriyle iletişime geçmesi ve kadın hikayelerinin ve şiddetin sistematik yapısının anlatılması sureti ile hakimlerin eril, cinsiyetçi zihniyetlerinin dönüştürülmesi gibi kazanımlar doğurmuştur. Böylelikle feminist hareket dava takip aktivizmi ile, hukuku, toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğinin üretildiği bir alan olmaktan çıkartarak, yargılama sürecini, içeriğini yeniden anlamlandırdığı bir mücadele zeminine dönüştürmüştür