Model building in the social sciences can increasingly rely on well elaborated formal theories. At the same time inexpensive large computational capacities are now available. Both make computer-based model building and simulation possible in social science, whose central aim is in particular an understanding of social dynamics. Such social dynamics refer to public opinion formation, partner choice, strategy decisions in social dilemma situations and much more. In the context of such modelling approaches, novel problems in philosophy of science arise which must be analysed - the main aim of this book. Interest in social simulation has recently been growing rapidly world- wide, mainly as a result of the increasing availability of powerful personal computers. The field has also been greatly influenced by developments in cellular automata theory (from mathematics) and in distributed artificial intelligence which provided tools readily applicable to social simulation. This book presents a number of modelling and simulation approaches and their relations to problems in philosophy of science. It addresses sociologists and other social scientists interested in formal modelling, mathematical sociology, and computer simulation as well as computer scientists interested in social science applications, and philosophers of social science.

This book gives an overview of the state of the art in five different approaches to social science simulation on the individual level. The volume contains microanalytical simulation models designed for policy implementation and evaluation, multilevel simulation methods designed for detecting emergent phenomena, dynamical game theory applications, the use of cellular automata to explain the emergence of structure in social systems, and multi-agent models using the experience from distributed artificial intelligence applied to special phenomena. The book collects the results of an international conference which brought together social scientists and computer scientists both engaged in a wide range of simulation approaches for the first time.

The use of computer simulations to study social phenomena has grown rapidly during the last few years. Many social scientists from the fields of economics, sociology, psychology and other disciplines now use computer simulations to study a wide range of social phenomena. The availability of powerful personal computers, the development of multidisciplinary approaches and the use of artificial intelligence models have all contributed to this development. The benefits of using computer simulations in the social sciences are obvious. This holds true for the use of simulations as tools for theory building and for its implementation as a tool for sensitivity analysis and parameter optimization in application-oriented models. In both, simulation provides powerful tools for the study of complex social systems, especially for dynamic and multi-agent social systems in which mathematical tractability is often impossible. The graphical display of simulation output renders it user friendly to many social scientists that lack sufficient familiarity with the language of mathematics. The present volume aims to contribute in four directions: (1) To examine theoretical and methodological issues related to the application of simulations in the social sciences. By this we wish to promote the objective of designing a unified, user-friendly, simulation toolkit which could be applied to diverse social problems. While no claim is made that this objective has been met, the theoretical issues treated in Part 1 of this volume are a contribution towards this objective.

This book gives an overview of the state of the art in five different approaches to social science simulation on the individual level. The volume contains microanalytical simulation models designed for policy implementation and evaluation, multilevel simulation methods designed for detecting emergent phenomena, dynamical game theory applications, the use of cellular automata to explain the emergence of structure in social systems, and multi-agent models using the experience from distributed artificial intelligence applied to special phenomena. The book collects the results of an international conference which brought together social scientists and computer scientists both engaged in a wide range of simulation approaches for the first time.

Model building in the social sciences can increasingly rely on well elaborated formal theories. At the same time inexpensive large computational capacities are now available. Both make computer-based model building and simulation possible in social science, whose central aim is in particular an understanding of social dynamics. Such social dynamics refer to public opinion formation, partner choice, strategy decisions in social dilemma situations and much more. In the context of such modelling approaches, novel problems in philosophy of science arise which must be analysed - the main aim of this book. Interest in social simulation has recently been growing rapidly world- wide, mainly as a result of the increasing availability of powerful personal computers. The field has also been greatly influenced by developments in cellular automata theory (from mathematics) and in distributed artificial intelligence which provided tools readily applicable to social simulation. This book presents a number of modelling and simulation approaches and their relations to problems in philosophy of science. It addresses sociologists and other social scientists interested in formal modelling, mathematical sociology, and computer simulation as well as computer scientists interested in social science applications, and philosophers of social science.

The articles collected in this volume have two features in common: they wantto integrate economics, demography and geography, and they want to overcome the stationary approach in modelling in favour of a dynamic one. The book is subdivided into three parts, where Part I is focussing on economic evolution, Part II on geographical development and Part III is related to demographic change. The present volume aims at providing a new look at this triangle in view of the classical background of discussions by introducing new research ideas focussing in nonlinear dynamics and stochastic modelling. Thus the main purpose of this book is to make a contribution to the interdisciplinary work needed to integrate the effortsbetween these three research fields and to serve as a research source in demonstrating the current state of art in dynamic modelling. The book isaddressed to social scientists in general, and those in particular with a background in economics, geographics and demographics. It should also be of interest to mathematicians, physicists, and systems analysts interested in model building and applications of nonlinear dynamics.

Zum funften Male wird die Fachtagung "Informatik und Schule" vom Fachbereich 7 "Ausbildung und Schule" der Gesellschart fur Informatik durchgefuhrt, dieses Mai in Kooperation mit dem Fachbereich Informatik der Universitat Koblenz-Landau. Die fruheren Tagungen trugen die Leit- themen "Informatik als Herausforderung an Schule und Ausbildung" (Berlin 1984), "Informatik- Grundbildung in Schule und Beruf" (Kaiserslautern 1986), "Zukunftsperspektiven der Informatik in Schule und Beruf" (Munchen 1989) und "Informatik: Wege zur Vielfalt beim Lehren und Ler- nen" (Oldenburg 1991). Diese 5. Fachtagung steht unter dem Thema "Informatik als Schlussel zur Qualifikation". Zentrales Thema dieser Fachtagung ist eine ausfuhrliche Darstellung der reichhaltigen Ein- satzmoeglichkeiten von Computern zum Lehren und Lernen. Dies betrifft die diversen Ausbil- dungsbereiche genauso wie das notwendige lebensbegleitende Lernen zur Erlangung von Schlussel- qualifikationen. Wesentlich sind sowohl theoretisch entwickelte Methoden, die gezielt auf Infor- matikmittel zuruckgreifen, als auch praktisch realisierte Unterrichtsformen, die auf geeigneten Computeranwendungen und deren Integration basieren. Die Art der Einbeziehung des Computers in den UnteITicht, die Motivation dazu, die Gestal- tung und Entwicklung der Applikation, die wissenschaftlichen und theoretischen Grundlagen und die validierten Erfahrungen sind als Gesamtheit von besonderem Interesse. Schwerpunkte sollten vor allen Dingen auf informatischen, didaktischen und padagogischen Aspekten sowie auf deren gegenseitiger Beeinflussung liegen.

Das Buch - hervorgegangen aus einer uber mehrere Jahre hinweg immer wieder gehaltenen Vorlesung - gibt anhand von Beispielen eine Einfuhrung in die wichtigsten Verfahren der mathematischen und computergestutzten Modell- und Theoriebildung in den Sozialwissenschaften. Behandelt werden deterministische und stochastische Modelle von Prozessen der individuellen Meinungsbildung und der Veranderung von Einstellungen in grosseren Kollektiven."

This text compiles research from a vibrant social simulation community of researchers who have developed unique and innovative approaches to social simulation.