Comparing the spatial characteristics cyber and physical communities

Readers of the blog know that I have an interest in social media, and how through it we can gain an understanding of society at large. The question is how does the cyber community reflect the corresponding physical community? To this end, papers from 6th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Location-Based Social Networks which was held in conjunction with the 21st ACM SIGSPATIAL conference have just come out on the  ACM Digital Library. We presented a paper at the conference entitled "Comparing the Spatial Characteristics of Corresponding Cyber and Physical Communities: A Case Study" The abstract of the paper is as follows:

"The proliferation of social media over the past few years is presenting us with unique opportunities to sample opinions and interests at spatial and temporal resolutions previously unheard of. In order to make best use of this information though, we need a better understanding of the degree to which the cyber community that is observed through them can serve as a proxy for the corresponding physical community. In this paper we are making a contribution towards this issue by presenting a case study in which we compare spatial characteristics of a community both in the physical and cyber spaces. The key findings of our analysis relate to the selection of an appropriate level of spatial aggregation for analyzing social media content, and on the effect in the level of participation of the distance from the point of interest."

We hope you enjoy it.

Full reference: 

• Lu, X., Croitoru, A., Radzikowski, J, Crooks, A. T. and Stefanidis, A. (2013), Comparing the Spatial Characteristics of Corresponding Cyber and Physical Communities: A Case Study, 6th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Location-Based Social Networks, Orlando, FL, pp 11-14. (pdf)

Agent_Zero

Readers of the blog might be interested in reading Josh Epstein's new book "Agent_Zero: Toward Neurocognitive Foundations for Generative Social Science" To quote from the publisher:

"In this pioneering synthesis, Joshua Epstein introduces a new theoretical entity: Agent_Zero. This software individual, or "agent," is endowed with distinct emotional/affective, cognitive/deliberative, and social modules. Grounded in contemporary neuroscience, these internal components interact to generate observed, often far-from-rational, individual behavior. When multiple agents of this new type move and interact spatially, they collectively generate an astonishing range of dynamics spanning the fields of social conflict, psychology, public health, law, network science, and economics.

Epstein weaves a computational tapestry with threads from Plato, Hume, Darwin, Pavlov, Smith, Tolstoy, Marx, James, and Dostoevsky, among others. This transformative synthesis of social philosophy, cognitive neuroscience, and agent-based modeling will fascinate scholars and students of every stripe. Epstein's computer programs are provided in the book or on its Princeton University Press website, along with movies of his "computational parables."

Agent_Zero is a signal departure in what it includes (e.g., a new synthesis of neurally grounded internal modules), what it eschews (e.g., standard behavioral imitation), the phenomena it generates (from genocide to financial panic), and the modeling arsenal it offers the scientific community."

To get an idea of what to expect the movie below is from the JHGCCO Seminar Series on Systems Science and Obesity where Epstein introduces Agent_Zero.

Geoinformatics and Social Media: A New Big Data Challenge

We recently contributed a chapter to "Big Data: Techniques and Technologies in Geoinformatics" entitled "Geoinformatics and Social Media: A New Big Data Challenge" where we explore how social media and ambient geographic information is transforming geoinformatics. We discuss the key characteristics of big geosocial data beofre moving onto geosocial complexity.  Specifically how goeosocial data is predominantly linked information; links are established among users to establish a social network and among words to define a storyline that is communicated through pieces of information. Aggregating all these connections (links) provides us with a view of the users as a structured, networked community that can be represented as a graph. We then turn to modeling and analyzing geosocial multimedia before concluding with an outlook pertaining to the grand challenges and opportunities for big geosocial data.

Full reference:

Croitoru, A., Crooks, A.T., Radzikowski, J., Stefanidis, A., Vatsavai, R. R. and Wayant, N. (2014), Geoinformatics and Social Media: A New Big Data Challenge, in Karimi, H. (ed.), Big Data Techniques and Technologies in Geoinformatics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 207-232. (pdf)

Agentscript: ABM Framework

In the past I have blogged (and even written papers) about agent-based modeling toolkits / frameworks such as MASON, Repast and NetLogo for the creation of models. One issue is the deployment of models over the internet. Thanks to Richard Milton from the TALISMAN blog for pointing out agentscript. Agentscript is billed as "a minimalist Agent Based Modeling (ABM) framework based on NetLogo agent semantics. Its goal is to promote the Agent Oriented Programming model in a highly deployable CoffeeScript/JavaScript implementation." The image on the left shows a simple agentscript model on Google Maps from Richard. The agentscript website also has several examples which shows it potential for the creation for geospatial agent-based models which can be deployed within a website. For example, below  agents (blue) seek and move to the lowest elevation.

Creative Cities

Over the last year I have been working with Ammar Malik and Hilton Root on a small project which explores the relationship between human creativity and urban development via an agent-based model. We have recently just completed a working paper for this project entitled: "Can Pakistan have creative cities? An agent based modeling approach with preliminary application to Karachi" which was published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). For interested readers, below is the abstract to the paper:

Scholars and urban planners have suggested that the key characteristic of leading world cities is that they attract the best and brightest minds. As home to the creative classes, which consist of professionals working in knowledge-based industries, they are the bedrocks of prosperity and drivers of innovation. They not only provide unrivaled educational and professional opportunities, but also the best entertainment facilities such as art galleries, theaters and restaurants. Both through hard and soft infrastructure, residents of these cities enjoy seamless connectivity which fosters human creativity. When combined with population density, socio-economic diversity and societal tolerance, the elevated interaction intensity diffuses creativity and boosts economic productivity. However, rapidly urbanizing cities in the developing world are struggling to maintain adequate service delivery standards. The form and function of many cities are increasingly marred by congestion, sprawl and socioeconomic segregation, preventing them from experiencing expected productivity gains associated with urbanization. We operationalize these insights by creating a stylized agent-based model of a theoretical city, inspired by social complexity theory and the new urban literature. A virtual environment is designed where heterogeneous and independent decision-making agents interact under various policy scenarios, such as greater urban transportation investments and altered land-use regulations. By creating typical urban conditions, we conclude that the combination of mixed land-use, improved access to urban mobility and high societal tolerance levels foster creativity led urban economic growth.

For more details see:

Malik, A.A., Crooks, A.T. and Root, H.L. (2013), Can Pakistan have Creative Cities? An Agent Based Modeling Approach with Preliminary Application to Karachi. Pakistan Strategy Support Program Working Paper 13, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC. (pdf)