Call for Papers

Sixth International Workshop on Multi-Agent-Based Simulation

MABS’05

To be held at Educatorium, the conference center of the Utrecht University

http://mabs05.di.fc.ul.pt/

 

Co-located with the

Fourth International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems

AAMAS’2005

http://www.aamas2005.nl/

 

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Presentation

 

The Multi-Agent-Based Simulation (MABS) workshop is the sixth of a series than began in 1998. Its scientific focus lies in the confluence of social sciences and multi-agent systems, with a strong applicational/empirical vein, and its emphasis is stressed on (i) exploratory agent based simulation as a principled way of undertaking scientific research in the social sciences and (ii) using social theories as an inspiration to new frameworks and developments in multi-agent systems. The excellent quality level of this workshop has been recognised since its inception, and so its proceedings have always been published by Springer-Verlag, in the Lecture Notes series.

 

 

Aims and Scope

 

The relationship between social sciences and multi-agent systems has only begun to provide some results. It is generally accepted that many concepts and techniques have yet to be imported to the multi-agent systems area, either for some lack of theory, or to be tested in computer simulations. This transfer can occur also in the opposite direction, since multi-agent based simulations are changing the way the social scientists can look at their problems. This methodological change is taking its first steps, and will undoubtedly have an influence throughout all sciences.

 

MABS will focus on ideas related to the definition of new multi-agent systems (MAS) to address real complex issues, as well as ideas coming from social sciences to MAS as new metaphors to provide insights into MAS theory. Theories, models, analysis, experimental designs, empirical studies, methodological principles, all converge into simulation as a way of achieving explanations and predictions, but also exploration of new hypotheses and conjectures.

 

In MABS, we use primarily the agent paradigm as a way of going beyond the limitations of traditional approaches. Agents provide heterogeneity, where classical theories were based on homogeneity of behaviour. Agents call for holism as an answer for reductionist boundaries. This new approach has already provided a lot of results in the exploration of the micro-macro link, the idea that individual behaviour influences the overall dynamics of systems, and that the perception by the individual agent of the overall system influences its behaviour. As the applications develop in more and more varied fields, we can expect to learn much more about “how things are” — and “how they could be.”

 

The workshop will provide a forum for social scientists, agent researchers and developers and simulation researchers to assess the current state of the art in the modelling and simulation of social systems and MAS, identify where existing approaches can be successfully applied, learn about new approaches and explore future research challenges.

 

The workshop is in part a continuation of the International Workshop series on Multi-Agent-Based Simulation (MABS). More information about MABS can be found at http://www.pcs.usp.br/~mabs/.

 

 

 

General Topics

 

Topics of interest of the workshop include:

 

- Cognitive modelling and social simulation

- MABS applications

- Self-organisation, scalability, robustness

- Agent models for MABS

- Grid-computing

- Simulation probing

- Agent-based experimental economics

- Standards for simulators including inter-operability

- New tools and methodologies for MABS

- Social order

- Complexity

 

 

 

Target Audience

 

The workshop will be of interest to researchers in the modelling and analysis of multi-agent systems, and researchers who are interested in applying agent-based simulation techniques to real-world problems.

 

Important dates

 

Submission deadline:                                  March 14, 2005

Notification of acceptance:                              April 18, 2005

Final pre-workshop version deadline:              May 5, 2005                           

Workshop event:                                             July 25 or 26, 2005

 

Publication

 

All accepted papers will be printed in the workshop proceedings. In addition, following the tradition of the previous MABS workshops, selected papers will be revised and published by Springer-Verlag in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science series. Preliminary schedule of the post-proceedings process:

 

Second reviewing:                                           September

Revised camera-ready papers:                         October

Publication:                                                     December

 

Submission Guidelines

 

A PDF file containing the paper should be e-mailed to mabs05@di.fc.ul.pt by the14th of March 2005. The paper must be in Springer LNCS format (see http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html) and no more than 12 pages.

 

Organising Committee

 

Luis Antunes (Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal)

Jaime S. Sichman (Universidade de S. Paulo, Brasil)

 

Program Committee

(* confirmed)

 

* Frederic Amblard (France)

* François Bousquet (France)

* José Castro Caldas (Portugal)

* Cristiano Castelfranchi (Italia)

* Helder Coelho (Portugal)

* Rosaria Conte (Italia)

Noshir Contractor (USA)

* Paul Davidsson (Sweden)

Jim Doran (UK)

Tom Dwyer (Brasil)

* Aléxis Drogoul (France)

* Nigel Gilbert (UK)

* Wander Jagger (The Netherlands)

* Marco Jansen (USA)

* Jorge Louçã (Portugal)

* Juan Pavon Mestras (Spain)

Scott Moss (UK)

Jean-Pierre Müller (France)

* Emma Norling (Australia)

* Mario Paolucci (Italia)

* Juliette Rouchier (France)

* Keith Sawyer (USA)

* Carles Sierra (Spain)

José Vicente da Silva (Brasil)

* Ron Sun (USA)

* Keiki Takadama (Japan)

* Oswaldo Teran (Venezuela)

* Jan Treur (The Netherlands)

* Klaus Troitzsch (Germany)

* Afzal Upal (USA)

* Harko Verhagen (Sweden)

Gérard Weisbuch (France)