Agent-based modeling/simulation is an emerging field that uses bottom-up and experimental analysis in the social sciences. Selected research from that presented at the Third International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems 2004, held in May 2004 in Kyoto, Japan, is included in this book. The aim of the workshop was to employ the bottom-up approach to social and economic problems by modeling, simulation, and analysis using a software agent. This research area is an emerging interdisciplinary field among the social sciences and computer science, attracting broad attention because it introduces a simulation-based experimental approach to problems that are becoming increasingly complex in an era of globalization and innovation in information technology. The state-of-the-art research and findings presented in this book will be indispensable tools for anyone involved in this rapidly growing discipline.

This volume records the proceedings of the 22nd Annual International Con ference of the International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA), 15-19 July, 1991, Kyoto, Japan, sponsored by the Science Council of Japan and the Japanese Association of Simulation and Gaming (JASAG). The con ference theme was Global Modeling for Solving Global Problems. The first 2 days of the conference were held in the magnificent Kyoto International Conference Hall; the 3rd day was spent admiring the floats of the famous Gion Festival in the exquisite city of Kyoto and the Daibutsu (or Great Buddha) of the Todaiji Temple in Nara and visiting one of the Sharp factories. During the last 2 days of the conference we were made most welcome in the Faculty of International Relations of Ritsumeikan University. The day after the conference, a number of delegates went to Hiroshima (the Peace Memorial Hall, Museum and Park) and also to one of Japan's "Scenic Trio," the island of Miyajima with its breathtaking views and the Itsukushima Shrine. The conference was attended by some 400 delegates from over 30 different countries. Over 100 sessions, both theoretical and practical, were given: keynote speeches, round-table discussions, workshops, papers. This volume reflects most of those sessions, in the form of either a full paper or a short abstract."

Agent-based modeling/simulation is an emerging field that uses bottom-up and experimental analysis in the social sciences. Selected research from that presented at the Third International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems 2004, held in May 2004 in Kyoto, Japan, is included in this book. The aim of the workshop was to employ the bottom-up approach to social and economic problems by modeling, simulation, and analysis using a software agent. This research area is an emerging interdisciplinary field among the social sciences and computer science, attracting broad attention because it introduces a simulation-based experimental approach to problems that are becoming increasingly complex in an era of globalization and innovation in information technology. The state-of-the-art research and findings presented in this book will be indispensable tools for anyone involved in this rapidly growing discipline.

"This comprehensive and immensely readable volume takes the reader to the cutting edge of the field. Like the conference from which it stems, the book has extremely broad coverage in terms of the topics addressed, the disciplines from which the authors come and to which their papers contribute, and the geographic sites of origin of the ideas and findings. The conference presentations, of a high quality in their initial form, have been wonderfully crafted by the authors with the excellent guidance of the editors. It is a timely addition to the literature and belongs on every gamer's bookshelf." --Cathy Stein Greenblat, Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Jersey With contributions from leading international researchers in simulation and gaming, this book provides readers with up-to-date coverage of simulation and gaming as a professional endeavor rather than just as a set of subject-relevant techniques. Organized into four parts (applications, policy exercises, research, and professional matters), the book covers such topics as the application of simulation/games to specific purposes (such as international conflict, citizen participation, etc.); research in the areas of business performance and discourse analysis; and debriefing, ethics, and the state of simulation/gaming in various countries. Simulation and Gaming Across Disciplines and Cultures offers readers a cohesive picture of the breadth and richness of the field of simulation and gaming.