The most exciting and productive areas of academic inquiry are often where the interests of two disciplines meet. This is certainly the case for the subject of this book, originally published in 1994, which explores the contribution that computer-based modelling and artificial intelligence can make to understanding fundamental issues in social science. Simulating Societies shows how computer simulations can help to clarify theoretical approaches, contribute to the evaluation of alternative theories, and illuminate one of the major issues of the social sciences: how social phenomena can "emerge" from individual action. The authors discuss how simulation models can be constructed using recently developed artificial intelligence techniques and they consider the methodological issues involved in using such models for theory development, testing and experiment. The introductory chapters situate the book within social science, and suggest why the time was ripe for significant progress, before defining basic terminology, showing how simulation has been used to theorize about organizations, and indicating through examples some of the fundamental issues involved in simulation. The main body of the text provides case studies drawn from economics, anthropology, archaeology, planning, social psychology and sociology. The appeal of this path-breaking book was twofold. It offered an essential introduction to simulation for social scientists and it provided case study applications for computer scientists interested in the latest advances in the burgeoning area of distributed artificial intelligence (DAI) at the time.

The most exciting and productive areas of academic inquiry are often where the interests of two disciplines meet. This is certainly the case for the subject of this book, originally published in 1994, which explores the contribution that computer-based modelling and artificial intelligence can make to understanding fundamental issues in social science. Simulating Societies shows how computer simulations can help to clarify theoretical approaches, contribute to the evaluation of alternative theories, and illuminate one of the major issues of the social sciences: how social phenomena can "emerge" from individual action. The authors discuss how simulation models can be constructed using recently developed artificial intelligence techniques and they consider the methodological issues involved in using such models for theory development, testing and experiment. The introductory chapters situate the book within social science, and suggest why the time was ripe for significant progress, before defining basic terminology, showing how simulation has been used to theorize about organizations, and indicating through examples some of the fundamental issues involved in simulation. The main body of the text provides case studies drawn from economics, anthropology, archaeology, planning, social psychology and sociology. The appeal of this path-breaking book was twofold. It offered an essential introduction to simulation for social scientists and it provided case study applications for computer scientists interested in the latest advances in the burgeoning area of distributed artificial intelligence (DAI) at the time.

Seventeen-year-old Harold Tray is preparing for college when he is visited by an apparition one night. After she convinces him to accompany her to a faraway world, Harold finds himself in the middle of a prophecy in the fairy-tale land of Kingdom. Planet is a powerful pixie who proclaims Harold has been teleported to help her bring peace back to Kingdom. His assignment is to unite five maidens to overthrow the illegitimate king. Luckily for Harold, the five are fairy-tale princesses from familiar childhood stories. After partnering with Planet and other misfit companions, he journeys across Kingdom in search of the maidens. He finds them at the end of their stories, ready to continue their lives as queens. Unfortunately, their progress to the throne will not be easy. An ancient enemy is waiting for them, and he knows secrets about Harold's past.

Seventeen-year-old Harold Tray is preparing for college when he is visited by an apparition one night. After she convinces him to accompany her to a faraway world, Harold finds himself in the middle of a prophecy in the fairy-tale land of Kingdom. Planet is a powerful pixie who proclaims Harold has been teleported to help her bring peace back to Kingdom. His assignment is to unite five maidens to overthrow the illegitimate king. Luckily for Harold, the five are fairy-tale princesses from familiar childhood stories. After partnering with Planet and other misfit companions, he journeys across Kingdom in search of the maidens. He finds them at the end of their stories, ready to continue their lives as queens. Unfortunately, their progress to the throne will not be easy. An ancient enemy is waiting for them, and he knows secrets about Harold's past.