This book emerged out of international conferences organized as part of the AAAI Fall Symposia series, and the Swarmfest 2017 conference. It brings together researchers from diverse fields studying these complex systems using CAS and agent-based modeling tools and techniques. In the past, the knowledge gained in each domain has largely remained exclusive to that domain. By bringing together scholars who study these phenomena, the book takes knowledge from one domain to provide insight into others. Most interesting phenomena in natural and social systems include constant transitions and oscillations among their various phases - wars, companies, societies, markets, and humans rarely stay in a stable, predictable state for long. Randomness, power laws, and human behavior ensure that the future is both unknown and challenging. How do events unfold? When do they take hold? Why do some initial events cause an avalanche while others do not? What characterizes these events? What are the thresholds that differentiate a sea change from a non-event? Complex adaptive systems (CAS) have proven to be a powerful tool for exploring these and other related phenomena. The authors characterize a general CAS model as having a large number of self-similar agents that: 1) utilize one or more levels of feedback; 2) exhibit emergent properties and self-organization; and 3) produce non-linear dynamic behavior. Advances in modeling and computing technology have led not only to a deeper understanding of complex systems in many areas, but they have also raised the possibility that similar fundamental principles may be at work across these systems, even though the underlying principles may manifest themselves differently.

This book contains a selection of the latest research in the field of Computational Social Science (CSS) methods, uses, and results, as presented at the 2018 annual conference of the CSSSA. This conference was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 25 - 28, 2018, at the Drury Plaza Hotel. CSS investigates social and behavioral dynamics in both nature and society, through computer simulation, network analysis, and the science of complex systems. The Computational Social Science Society of the Americas (CSSSA) is a professional society that aims to advance the field of CSS in all its areas, from fundamental principles to real-world applications, by holding conferences and workshops, promoting standards of scientific excellence in research and teaching, and publishing novel research findings. What follows is a diverse representation of new approaches and research findings, using the tools of CSS and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) in exploring complex phenomena across many different domains. Readers will not only have the methods and results of these specific projects on which to build, but will also gain a greater appreciation for the broad scope of CSS, and have a wealth of case-study examples that can serve as meaningful exemplars for new research projects and activities. This book, we hope, will appeal to any researchers and students working in the social sciences, broadly defined, who aim to better understand and apply the concepts of Complex Adaptive Systems to their work.

This book contains a selection of the latest research in the field of Computational Social Science (CSS) methods, uses, and results, as presented at the 2018 annual conference of the CSSSA. This conference was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 25 - 28, 2018, at the Drury Plaza Hotel. CSS investigates social and behavioral dynamics in both nature and society, through computer simulation, network analysis, and the science of complex systems. The Computational Social Science Society of the Americas (CSSSA) is a professional society that aims to advance the field of CSS in all its areas, from fundamental principles to real-world applications, by holding conferences and workshops, promoting standards of scientific excellence in research and teaching, and publishing novel research findings. What follows is a diverse representation of new approaches and research findings, using the tools of CSS and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) in exploring complex phenomena across many different domains. Readers will not only have the methods and results of these specific projects on which to build, but will also gain a greater appreciation for the broad scope of CSS, and have a wealth of case-study examples that can serve as meaningful exemplars for new research projects and activities. This book, we hope, will appeal to any researchers and students working in the social sciences, broadly defined, who aim to better understand and apply the concepts of Complex Adaptive Systems to their work.