In this work we propose a theory of gossip as a means for social control. Exercising social control roughly means to isolate and to punish cheaters. However, punishment is costly and it inevitably implies the problem of second-order cooperation. Moving from a cognitive model of gossip, we report data from ethnographic studies and agent-based simulations to support our claim that gossip reduces ...

We study the equilibrium points of a system of equations corresponding to a Bass based model that describes the diffusion of two brands in competition. To increase the understanding of the effects of the crossbrand parameters, we perform a sensitivity analysis. Finally, we show a comparison with an agent-based model inspired in the Potts model. Conclusions include that both models give the same...

We present TAPAS-Z, which is an agent-based freight transport analysis model for simulation of decision-making and transport activities. TAPAS-Z is a further development of a simulation model called TAPAS, and it has improved support for simulation of transport in large geographical regions. It is based on the principles that shipments are simulated for chosen supplier-consumer relations in a g...

The goal of this research is to lay the foundations for a formal theory of drama, that abstracts from the procedural and interactive aspects involved in the generation of dramatic content. Based on the structural accounts provided from traditional drama analysis, the theory proposed in this paper exploits an agent-based perspective on characters to provide a goal-based characterization of drama...

We report results of economic policy experiments carried out in the framework of the EURACE agent-based macroeconomic model featuring a distinct geographical dimension and heterogeneous workers with respect to skill types. Using a calibrated model able to replicate a range of stylized facts of goods and labor markets, it is examined in how far effects differ if policy measures aiming at an impr...

Agent-based simulations have produced a variety of interesting contributions to economic research in the past years. Nevertheless, the methodology of economic simulations in general and agent-based simulations in particular is still in question. This is due to the fact that simulations are conducted without considering the underlying theory and links to standard economic approaches. This paper ...