IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v3y2011i4p578-595d11900.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the Future of Change Agency in Sustainability Through Cellular Automata Scenarios: The Role of Timing †

Author

Listed:
  • Ricardo Sosa

    (School of Industrial Design, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Queretaro 76150, Mexico)

Abstract

One of the main interdisciplinary challenges today is to understand and change the dominant social perceptions and values that support and perpetuate unsustainable practices. Social computational simulations have been conceived in recent years to understand emergent results from complex systems. These dynamic social models are of interest to sustainability researchers because they provide a means to implement hypotheses and explore scenarios that could help extend our understanding of the future role of change agency in society. Change agents are individuals who directly or indirectly enable sustainable behaviors or inhibit practices that damage the environment and large social groups. Evidence-based strategies, guidelines and methods are necessary in order to manage creative change agency more effectively. This paper presents work with computational simulations, known as cellular automata, in order to explore the role of timing in triggering social change through uncoordinated, autonomous individual action. The paper identifies a number of issues related to creative change agency and proposes associated guidelines for practitioners. As a means of early validation, these findings are portrayed against empirical studies in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Ricardo Sosa, 2011. "Understanding the Future of Change Agency in Sustainability Through Cellular Automata Scenarios: The Role of Timing †," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:3:y:2011:i:4:p:578-595:d:11900
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/4/578/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/4/578/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schelling, Thomas C, 1969. "Models of Segregation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 488-493, May.
    2. Thomas Leonard, 2008. "Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein, Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 356-360, December.
    3. Joshua M. Epstein & Robert L. Axtell, 1996. "Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262550253, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joshua M. Epstein, 2007. "Agent-Based Computational Models and Generative Social Science," Introductory Chapters, in: Generative Social Science Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling, Princeton University Press.
    2. Giorgio Fagiolo & Mattia Guerini & Francesco Lamperti & Alessio Moneta & Andrea Roventini, 2017. "Validation of Agent-Based Models in Economics and Finance," LEM Papers Series 2017/23, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    3. Furtado, Bernardo Alves & Eberhardt, Isaque Daniel Rocha, 2015. "Modelo espacial simples da economia: uma proposta teórico-metodológica [A simple spatial economic model: a proposal]," MPRA Paper 67005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. N. Emrah Aydinonat, 2005. "An interview with Thomas C. Schelling: Interpretation of game theory and the checkerboard model," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 2(2), pages 1-7.
    5. Bithell, M. & Macmillan, W.D., 2007. "Escape from the cell: Spatially explicit modelling with and without grids," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 200(1), pages 59-78.
    6. Zakaria Babutsidze, 2012. "Consumer Learning through Interaction: Effects on Aggregate Outcomes," Chapters, in: Guido Buenstorf (ed.), Evolution, Organization and Economic Behavior, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Florence Goffette-Nagot & Pablo Jensen & Sebastian Grauwin, 2009. "Dynamic models of residential segregation: Brief review, analytical resolution and study of the introduction of coordination," Post-Print halshs-00404400, HAL.
    8. Bernardo A. Furtado & Miguel A. Fuentes & Claudio J. Tessone, 2019. "Policy Modeling and Applications: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2019, pages 1-11, February.
    9. Khamdamov, T., 2022. "A brief overview of the evolution of computer simulations in economic research," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 54(2), pages 189-207.
    10. Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, 2010. "A Methodology for Complex Social Simulations," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7.
    11. Alexander J. Laurie & Narendra K. Jaggi, 2003. "Role of 'Vision' in Neighbourhood Racial Segregation: A Variant of the Schelling Segregation Model," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(13), pages 2687-2704, December.
    12. Kai Fischbach & Johannes Marx & Tim Weitzel, 2021. "Agent-based modeling in social sciences," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(9), pages 1263-1270, November.
    13. Radi, Davide & Gardini, Laura & Avrutin, Viktor, 2014. "The role of constraints in a segregation model: The symmetric case," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 103-119.
    14. Jung-Seung Yang, 2022. "Dynamics of Firm’s Investment in Education and Training: An Agent-based Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 1317-1351, December.
    15. Antoni Rubi-Barcelo, 2013. "Categorical Segregation from a Game Theoretical Approach," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(1), pages 85-120, May.
    16. Francis Tseng & Fei Liu & Bernardo Alves Furtado, 2017. "Humans of Simulated New York (HOSNY): an exploratory comprehensive model of city life," Papers 1703.05240, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2017.
    17. Delli Gatti,Domenico & Fagiolo,Giorgio & Gallegati,Mauro & Richiardi,Matteo & Russo,Alberto (ed.), 2018. "Agent-Based Models in Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108400046, January.
    18. Trevor Kollmann & Simone Marsiglio & Sandy Suardi & Marco Tolotti, 2021. "Social interactions, residential segregation and the dynamics of tipping," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 1355-1388, September.
    19. Jaya Krishnakumar & Florian Chávez-Juárez, 2016. "Estimating Capabilities with Structural Equation Models: How Well are We Doing in a ‘Real’ World?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 717-737, November.
    20. Mary Burke & Gary Fournier, 2005. "The Emergence of Local Norms in Networks," Computing in Economics and Finance 2005 299, Society for Computational Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:3:y:2011:i:4:p:578-595:d:11900. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.