Social simulation can be a difficult discipline to encompass fully. There are many methods, models, directions, and theories that can be discussed and applied to various social sciences. Anthropology, sociology, political science, economy, government, and management can all benefit from social simulation. Interdisciplinary Applications of Agent-Based Social Simulation and Modeling aims to bring a different perspective to this interdisciplinary topic. This book presents current discussions and new insights on social simulation as a whole, focusing on its dangers, pitfalls, deceits, and challenges. This book is an essential reference for researchers in this field, professionals using social simulation, and even students studying this discipline.

This book describes the common ground between electricity markets (EMs) and software agents (or artificial intelligence generally). It presents an up-to-date introduction to EMs and intelligent agents, and offers a comprehensive description of the research advances and key achievements related to existing and emerging market designs to reliably and efficiently manage the potential challenges of variable generation (VG). Most EMs are unique in their complex relationships between economics and the physics of energy, but were created without the notion that large penetrations of variable generation (VG) would be part of the supply mix. An advanced multi-agent approach simulates the behavior of power markets over time, particularly markets with large-scale penetrations of renewable resources. It is intended as a reference book for researchers, academics and industry practitioners, but given the scope of the chapters and the highly accessible style, the book also provides a coherent foundation for several different graduate courses.

This book describes the common ground between electricity markets (EMs) and software agents (or artificial intelligence generally). It presents an up-to-date introduction to EMs and intelligent agents, and offers a comprehensive description of the research advances and key achievements related to existing and emerging market designs to reliably and efficiently manage the potential challenges of variable generation (VG). Most EMs are unique in their complex relationships between economics and the physics of energy, but were created without the notion that large penetrations of variable generation (VG) would be part of the supply mix. An advanced multi-agent approach simulates the behavior of power markets over time, particularly markets with large-scale penetrations of renewable resources. It is intended as a reference book for researchers, academics and industry practitioners, but given the scope of the chapters and the highly accessible style, the book also provides a coherent foundation for several different graduate courses.

Prolog has a declarative style. A predicate definition includes both the input and output parameters, and it allows a programmer to define a desired result without being concerned about the detailed instructions of how it is to be computed. Such a declarative language offers a solution to the software crisis, because it is shorter and more concise, more powerful and understandable than present-day languages. Logic highlights novel aspects of programming, namely using the same program to compute a relation and its inverse, and supporting deductive retrieval of informa tion. This is a book about using Prolog. Its real point is the examples introduced from Chapter 3 onwards, and so a Prolog programmer does not need to read Chapters 1 and 2, which are oriented more to teachers and to students, respec tively. The book is recommended for introductory and advanced university courses, where students may need to remember the basics about logic program ming and Prolog, before starting doing. Chapters 1 and 2 were also kept for the sake of unity of the whole material. In Chapter 1 a teaching strategy is explained based on the key concepts of Pro log which are novel aspects of programming. Prolog is enhanced as a computer programming language used for solving problems that involve objects and the relationships between objects. This chapter provides a pedagogical tour of pre scriptions for the organization of Prolog programs, by pointing out the main draw backs novices may encounter."

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 2nd International Joint Conference of the 10th Ibero-American Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IBERAMIA 2006, and the 18th Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Symposium, SBIA 2006. The book presents 62 revised full papers together with 4 invited lectures. Topical sections include AI in education and intelligent tutoring systems, autonomous agents and multiagent systems, computer vision and pattern recognition, evolutionary computation and artificial life, and more.

When in October 1996 in Cholula (Puebla, Mexico), I took charge of organizing the scienti?c program of the next Ibero-American Congress on Arti?cial Intel- gence (IBERAMIA 98) I bet on a couple of ideas. First, I adopted the spirit of the Portuguese adventurers to get the Sixth Congress on a truly international track. In order to attain this aim I needed to convince everybody that the Ibero- American AI community had improved over the years and attained a very good level in what concerns individuals. Second, I brought my colleagues beside me so that we were able to collect su?cient excellent papers without destroying the pioneering spirit of those who ?rst inaugurated the Congress. Getting together to ?nd out what is in progress in the vast region in which Latin languages (P- tuguese and Spanish) are spoken, attracting others to exchange ideas with us, and by doing this advancing AI in general, is a risky untertaking. This book is the result, and it sets a new standard to be discussed by all of us. IBERAMIA was established in 1988 (Barcelona) by three Ibero-American AI Associations (AEPIA from Spain, SMIA from Mexico, and APPIA from Por- gal), after a ?rst meeting in Morelia (Mexico) in 1986 of SMIA and AEPIA.