Transcript Introduction Day 1 COLQ 201 Multiagent modeling Harry Howard Tulane University Course organization  http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/NLP/ 11-Jan-2010 COLQ 201, Prof.

Introduction
Day 1
COLQ 201
Multiagent modeling
Harry Howard
Tulane University
Course organization
 http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/NLP/
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Description
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Objectives
 You will learn how to run and understand a
multiagent simulation using the NetLogo
modeling environment.
 You will learn how to do some computer
programming in the NetLogo programming
language.
 NetLogo was designed to be "low threshold and no
ceiling", which is to say that it enables easy entry by
novices and yet meets the needs of high powered users.
 I hope you strive to be high powered.
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Objectives, cont.
 You will learn the basics of game theory and dynamical systems
theory.
 You will learn a lot of disparate facts about
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the earth sciences,
biology,
urban studies,
artificial intelligence,
epidemiology,
ecology,
and evolutionary biology, anthropology, economics, decision theory,
organizational psychology, political science, communications, and
linguistics
 which can be unified by their reduction to a multiagent dynamical
system.
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Objectives, cont.
 You will sharpen your skills at critical analysis.
For every simulation that we discuss in class, you
will be able to answer the questions:
 How does it work?
 Does it do what it claims to do accurately?
 Are the assumptions of the simulation – the structure of
the environment and the rules that the agents obey –
reasonable?
 Does the real world really behave the way the
simulation says it should?
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Objectives, cont.
 You will become an agile and discerning
thinker, able to pierce the veil of distracting
superficial details of a problem to find its
computational essence.
 You will become intellectually betterrounded.
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Outcomes
 For you to demonstrate how well you have
attained the objectives, you will perform the
following tasks:
 Take a quiz or turn in a project almost every
week, on Monday.
 Present a final project to the class on the final
exam day and turn in a report of your project
within two days.
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Quizzes / projects (75%)
 Almost every week, on Mondays [11-1 * 7.5% = 75%]
 No quiz/project can be accepted late, but I will drop the
lowest grade.
 Even though these look like a lot of small grades, missing
just one lowers your final grade almost an entire letter, as
an unfortunate few of my students have found out the hard
way.
 If you know ahead of time that you will miss a
quiz/project, send me an e-mail beforehand, and I will
excuse you with no penalty.
 Beforehand does not mean the morning that the
quiz/project is due, however.
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Final project (25%)
 Program in NetLogo a multiagent simulation of some topic
or process that interests you.
 It may be a topic or process that we have not reviewed in class, or
 a refinement of one that we have reviewed in class.
 If you build on an existing simulation, you must acknowledge the
work that you draw on.
 Present it to the class on the final exam day (Friday, April
30, afternoon).
 Turn in a written summary of it within two days.
 This may be a group effort, but everyone in the group will
receive the same grade.
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Just to be clear
 There is no final exam, but you must present your
final project to the class on the final exam day.
 You CANNOT leave town before then!
 Tell your parents NOW!
 You are hereby warned.
 Do not tell me at the end of the semester that your
parents bought you a ticket home without
knowing.
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Participation (0%)
 Note that there is no credit for class participation,
 but if I notice you participating a lot,
 I will increase your final grade if it is borderline. (X- →
Y+)
 There is no credit for class participation because
 I will pod-cast my lectures (record them as mp3 files
and make them available on this page, in the 'mp3'
column in the Schedule of Assignments),
 and I will also make my PowerPoint presentations
available on this page, in the 'ppt' column in the
Schedule of Assignments.
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Participation, cont.
 So all of the information that is imparted in class
is available to you outside of class.
 So I don't care whether you show up for class or
not, but if you do not, you do not get to ask me
questions or brainstorm with your fellow students.
 And that is how most people really learn
something.
 And you will miss out on all the fun.
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Prerequisites
 There aren't any.
 OK, maybe curiosity and a desire to learn
are prerequisites.
 In any event, I do not take anything for
granted and so will explain all background
information, or at least suggest sources
where you can find it on your own.
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Code of academic
integrity
“The integrity of Newcomb-Tulane College is based on the absolute honesty of the
entire community in all academic endeavors. As part of the Tulane University
community, students have certain responsibilities regarding work that forms the
basis for the evaluation of their academic achievement. Students are expected to
be familiar with these responsibilities at all times. No member of the university
community should tolerate any form of academic dishonesty, because the
scholarly community of the university depends on the willingness of both
instructors and students to uphold the Code of Academic Conduct. When a
violation of the Code of Academic Conduct is observed it is the duty of every
member of the academic community who has evidence of the violation to take
action. Students should take steps to uphold the code by reporting any suspected
offense to the instructor or the associate dean of the college. Students should under
no circumstances tolerate any form of academic dishonesty.”
For further information, point your browser at http://college.tulane.edu/code.htm.
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Students with
disabilities
 Students with disabilities who need academic
accommodation should:
 Contact and register with the Office of Disability
Services (ODS). For more information, visit the ODS
website at http://www.erc.tulane.edu/studentindex.html.
 Bring official notice to me from the ODS indicating
that you need academic accommodation. This should be
done within the first week of class.
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Electronic
infrastructure
 http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/Multiagent/
 I will send you e-mail on a regular basis –
you must check your e-mail on a regular
basis!
If you want to use a non-Tulane address, e-mail
me a message to that effect from the address.
 Bring a laptop to class.
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The textbook
 There isn't one.
 Well, there is the NetLogo User Manual at
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/docs/.
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Schedule of readings
 You should come to class having completed
the assignment for that day listed in the
schedule.
 We will spend the class going over the
simulations in the assignment, answering
any questions that may come up, and
perhaps doing new exercises.
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Questions?
?
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Who we are
Who I am
 Prof. Harry Howard
 862-3417 (voice mail 24 hours a day)
 Newcomb Hall 322-D
 Office hours: MW 4:30-5:30, T 4-5, and by
appointment (the link goes to my home
page, which displays my Google calendar)
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Who are you?
 Interview a classmate in order to report
back to the class:
your classmate's name,
where he or she is from,
what is his or her major,
why he or she is taking this course.
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Next time
 Download NetLogo 4.1 from
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/downloa
d.shtml and install it on your laptop.
 In the NetLogo User Manual, do What is
NetLogo? Sample Model: Party.
 Bring your laptop to class.
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