Objective:
This course will introduce the basic principles of agent-based modeling, giving a hands-on feel for how the approach this method, from code and settings up to the outcomes. The course will give a good understanding of the power of this approach, as well an idea of its pros and cons. This is the ideal starting point for beginning to learn how to use this technique for socio-ecological applications, such as fisheries science and management.
The course will use the freely-available NetLogo software that has become widespread within socio-ecological modeling.
By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:
- appreciate and start to understand how such simulations work, in particular linking the code to the outcomes when the code is run
- understand the power of the approach, with a good appreciation of when this technique might be appropriate and when not
- understand some of the structures and principles by which simulations are constructed, including basic control structures, spatial interaction, and simple networked interaction
- manipulate and control NetLogo simulations, adding new kinds of output (graphs, measures etc.), controlling its parameters, and making simple alterations to the code
- evaluate whether this is a technique that they need, and a have an idea of the time it would take to gain enough skill to be able to usefully apply it
- be better able to assess simulations presented to them in papers and reports, to critique these as to what they signify, ann the kind of assumptions they may encapsulate
Level:
Beginner, suitable for participants from any discipline.
Registration:
Registration opens once the course timing has been set.
