Call for Papers

AMPLE'12
2nd International Workshop on Agent-based Modeling for PoLicy Engineering
with a special track on Sustainability
co-located with ECAI 2012 (Montpellier, August 27-31, 2012)

http://ample2012.tudelft.nl/

**** Workshop Description ****

Socio-technical systems are complex adaptive entities in which social systems and technologies co-evolve. To attain policy goals in such an environment, social and technical elements require to be put to use in a combined way. In order to understand, analyze and design such complex systems, advanced tools are required. One of the major tools for understanding socio-technical systems is agent-based modeling. In recent years, social scientists from all domains, including economists, political scientists and sociologists, and policy makers have been using agent-based models to develop a better understanding of their problem domains and make better decisions. Building artificial societies by combining multi-agent systems with domain knowledge is, however, a challenge, not least because of the complexity involved.
A particularly important and timely aspect of this work is the design of sustainable policies. We will therefore have a special track focusing on sustainability in agent-based modeling for policy engineering. Policies for sustainable development require complex decisions about resource management, balance of economic, environmental and societal needs and involve many countries, interest groups and individuals. Especially for sustainable societies we are interested in simulations that can capture the behavioral patterns, changes and interactions in a society. This requires large scale simulations with relatively rich cognitive agents.

**** Topics of interest for AMPLE 2012 include, but are not limited to: ****

* Tools and methods for implementing policies in agent-based models (with a special interest in sustainability)
* Agent-oriented models for decision support:
- Social networks: influence in decision making; representation; models for simulation
- Culture and social norms: influence in decision making; representation; models for simulation
- Participatory design for sustainable policies
- Integration of normative and social aspects (design for values, in particular: sustainability)
* Rich cognitive agent models for policy analysis
* Formal methods for specifying policies in coordination and organizational structures
* Models for verification, validation and visualization of simulations for policy analysis
* Connection of tools and methods for policy analysis (agent-based modeling, game theory, gaming, system dynamics)

**** Workshop Goals ****

The goal of the AMPLE workshop is to connect research in agent-based social simulation and computational social science with policy making, institutional analysis and tools like system dynamics and gaming. This combination will have benefits for further enrichment and real-life applicability of agent-based modeling and simulation. By gathering different perspectives, we aim to explore how agent-oriented research can be used or improved to assist policy making in the social sciences.

**** AMPLE background ****
AMPLE'12 is the follow-up of the first AMPLE-workshop co-located with AAMAS'11 (Taipei, Taiwan). AMPLE’12 joins forces with the congenial ABSSS-workshop (Agent Based Simulations for a Sustainable Society), which held its first edition in November 2011, as part of the PRIMA conference (Wollongong, Australia).

**** Instruction for Authors ****
Authors are invited to submit full papers of 15 pages in Springer-LNCS style. Submissions will be reviewed by at least three reviewers in a single-blind review process. Paper should be submitted through our Easychair site: www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ample2012. At least one author of each accepted paper is required to register for the workshop and for ECAI. Workshop notes including all accepted papers will be distributed to ECAI 2012 registrants in electronic form and made available on the ECAI website.

**** Important Dates ****

Paper Submission: 28 May 2012
Notification: 28 June 2012
Camera-ready submission: 15 July 2012
AMPLE Workshop: 27 or 28 August 2012


**** AMPLE organizers ****

Organizing Chairs
Amineh Ghorbani (TU Delft, NL)
Neil Yorke-Smith (American University Beirut, LB)
Tony Bastin Roy Savarimuthu (U of Otago, NZ)

Program Chairs
Francien Dechesne (TU Delft, NL)
Armando Geller (Group W and George Mason University, USA)

Steering committee
Rosaria Conte (IRC, Rome, IT)
Frank Dignum (Utrecht University, NL)
Virginia Dignum (TU Delft, NL)
Catholijn Jonker (TU Delft, NL)
Pablo Noriega (IIIA Barcelona, ESP)
Julian Padget (University of Bath, UK)

General PC:
Nuno David, ISCTE
Gennaro Di Tosto, Utrecht
Bruce Edmonds, Manchester
Andreas Ernst, Kassel
Maria Gini, University of Minnesota
Gertjan Hofstede, Wageningen University
Wander Jager, Groningen
Bogumil Kaminsky, Warsaw
Maciej Latek, George Mason University
Seyed Mussavi Rizi, George Mason University
Igor Nikolic, TU Delft
Pablo Noriega, IIIA
Julian Padget, University of Bath
Pascal Perez, University of Wollongong
Jens Pfau, University of Melbourne
Maryam Purvis, University of Otago
Jaime Sichman, University of Sao Paulo
Alex Smajgl, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
Liz Sonenberg, Melbourne University
Flaminio Squazzoni, Università di Brescia
Tiberiu Stratulat, LIRMM, UM2
Yao-Hua Tan, Delft University of Technology
Dirk Van Rooy, Australian National University
Javier Vazquez, UPC
Tim Verwaart, Wageningen UR


Consult our website http://ample2012.tudelft.nl for more information!