José Ignacio Santos

Food for all: An agent-based model to explore the emergence and implications of cooperation for food storage

Abstract A consistent access to food is paramount for humans at individual and group level. Besides providing the basic nutritional needs, access to food defines social structures and has stimulated innovation in food procurement, processing and storage. We focus on the social aspects of food storage, namely the role of cooperation for the emergence and maintenance of common stocks. Cooperative food stocks are examined here as a type of common-pool resource, where appropriators must cooperate to avoid shortage (i.e. the tragedy of commons). ‘Food for all’ is an agent-based model in which agents face the social dilemma of whether or not to store in a cooperative stock, adapting their strategies through a simple reinforcement learning mechanism. The model provides insights on the evolution of cooperation in terms of storage efficiency and considering the presence of social norms that regulate reciprocity. For cooperative food storage to emerge and be maintained, a significant dependency on the stored food and some degree of external pressure are needed. In fact, cooperative food storage emerges as the best performing strategy when facing environmental stress. Likewise, an intermediate control over reciprocity favours cooperation for food storage, suggesting that concepts of closed reciprocity are precursors to cooperative stocks, while excess control over reciprocity is detrimental for such institution.

Checking Simulations: Detecting and Avoiding Errors and Artefacts

The aim of this chapter is to simulations. The reader with a set of concepts and a range of suggested activities that will enhance his or her ability to understand agent-based simulations. To do this in a structured way, we review the main concepts of the methodology (e.g. we provide precise definitions for the terms “error” and “artefact”) and establish a general framework that summarises the process of designing, implementing, and using agent-based models. Within this framework we identify the various stages where different types of assumptions are usually made and, consequently, where different types of errors and artefacts may appear. We then propose several activities that can be conducted to detect each type of error and artefact.

Mesoscopic Effects in an Agent-Based Bargaining Model in Regular Lattices

The effect of spatial structure has been proved very relevant in repeated games. In this work we propose an agent based model where a fixed finite population of tagged agents play iteratively the Nash demand game in a regular lattice. The model extends the multiagent bargaining model by Axtell, Epstein and Young [1] modifying the assumption of global interaction. Each agent is endowed with a memory and plays the best reply against the opponents most frequent demand. We focus our analysis on the transient dynamics of the system, studying by computer simulation the set of states in which the system spends a considerable fraction of the time. The results show that all the possible persistent regimes in the global interaction model can also be observed in this spatial version. We also find that the mesoscopic properties of the interaction networks that the spatial distribution induces in the model have a significant impact on the diffusion of strategies, and can lead to new persistent regimes different from those found in previous research. In particular, community structure in the intratype interaction networks may cause that communities reach different persistent regimes as a consequence of the hindering diffusion effect of fluctuating agents at their borders.

Direct quality prediction in resistance spot welding process: Sensitivity, specificity and predictive accuracy comparative analysis

Abstract In this work, several of the most popular and state of the art classification methods are compared as pattern recognition tools for classification of resistance spot welding joints. Instead of using the result of a non-destructive testing technique as input variables, classifiers are trained directly with the relevant welding parameters, i.e. welding current, welding time and the type of electrode (electrode material and treatment). The algorithms are compared in terms of accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve metrics, using nested cross-validation. Results show that although there is not a dominant classifier for every specificity/sensitivity requirement, support vector machines using radial kernel, boosting and random forest techniques obtain the best performance overall.

Effect of Resource Spatial Correlation and Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Mobility on Social Cooperation in Tierra del Fuego

This article presents an agent-based model designed to explore the development of cooperation in hunter-fisher-gatherer societies that face a dilemma of sharing an unpredictable resource that is randomly distributed in space. The model is a stylised abstraction of the Yamana society, which inhabited the channels and islands of the southernmost part of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina-Chile). According to ethnographic sources, the Yamana developed cooperative behaviour supported by an indirect reciprocity mechanism: whenever someone found an extraordinary confluence of resources, such as a beached whale, they would use smoke signals to announce their find, bringing people together to share food and exchange different types of social capital. The model provides insight on how the spatial concentration of beachings and agents’ movements in the space can influence cooperation. We conclude that the emergence of informal and dynamic communities that operate as a vigilance network preserves cooperation and makes defection very costly.

Combining Mathematical and Simulation Approaches to Understand the Dynamics of Computer Models

This chapter shows how computer simulation and mathematical analysis can be used together to understand the dynamics of computer models. For this purpose, we show that it is useful to see the computer model as a particular implementation of a formal model in a certain programming language. This formal model is the abstract entity which is defined by the input–output relation that the computer model executes and can be seen as a function that transforms probability distributions over the set of possible inputs into probability distributions over the set of possible outputs.

Evolution of Equity Norms in Small-World Networks

The topology of interactions has been proved very influential in the results of models based on learning and evolutionary game theory. This paper is aimed at investigating the effect of structures ranging from regular ring lattices to random networks, including small-world networks, in a model focused on property distribution norms. The model considers a fixed and finite population of agents who play the Nash bargaining game repeatedly. Our results show that regular networks promote the emergence of the equity norm, while less-structured networks make possible the appearance of fractious regimes. Additionally, our analysis reveals that the speed of adoption can also be affected by the network structure.

Emergence and Evolution of Cooperation Under Resource Pressure

We study the influence that resource availability has on cooperation in the context of hunter-gatherer societies. This paper proposes a model based on archaeological and ethnographic research on resource stress episodes, which exposes three different cooperative regimes according to the relationship between resource availability in the environment and population size. The most interesting regime represents moderate survival stress in which individuals coordinate in an evolutionary way to increase the probabilities of survival and reduce the risk of failing to meet the minimum needs for survival. Populations self-organise in an indirect reciprocity system in which the norm that emerges is to share the part of the resource that is not strictly necessary for survival, thereby collectively lowering the chances of starving. Our findings shed further light on the emergence and evolution of cooperation in hunter-gatherer societies.

Independence of EPR and PAP tests performed on resistance spot welding joints

ABSTRACT In the present paper, the possible relationships among the variables of the potentiodynamic anodic polarisation (PAP) test and the electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) test, both performed on resistance spot welding joints of AISI 304 stainless steel, are investigated. Results show that PAP variables are statistically independent from those of EPR, which implies independence between the pitting corrosion behaviour and the degree of sensitisation of the material. Parameters from PAP test are dependent among them, but this association is found noisy since the current density along the passive zone is not exactly constant. The parameters from the EPR test are confirmed as very related, presenting a linear relationship and a high coefficient of determination.

An Agent Based Model of the Nash Demand Game in Regular Lattices

In this work we propose an agent based model where a fixed finite population of tagged agents play iteratively the Nash demand game in a regular lattice. This work extends the multiagent bargaining model by [1] including the spatial dimension in the game. Each agent is endowed with memory and plays the best reply against the opponent’s most frequent demand. The results show that all the possible persistent regimes of the global interaction game can also be obtained with this spatial version. Our preliminary analysis also suggests that the topological distribution of the agents can generate new persistent regimes within groups of agents with the same tag.