Call for Submissions

Social Simulation Conference 2019 (23 – 27 September 2019)

ssc2019.uni-mainz.de

hosted and organized by

TISSS Lab (Technology & Innovation Sociology / Social Simulation Laboratory)

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany

General information

SSC 2019 is the 15th annual Social Simulation Conference and will take place from 23 – 27 September 2019 at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. The conference is one of the key activities of the European Social Simulation Association (ESSA) to promote social simulation and computational social science in Europe and elsewhere.

This year’s special theme will be “Social Simulation for Social Policy” with focuses on the areas of Urban Planning – Environmental, economic, demographical and social perspectives. There will be dedicated keynotes, a plenary Policy Modelling track, a practitioner round table on federal policies for demographic change, two modelling challenges – one for scholars, one for students – with local stakeholders from Mainz city planning and urban policy making, where conference participants will be called to compete for a city simulation award. A specific challenge call will be published in April 2019.

The ESSA community had been invited to vote for new, more interactive formats for presentations and discussions at the conference. We will communicate the voting results to track organisers for consideration in organizing their sessions and will organise the plenary programme in accordance with the voting results ourselves.

Submissions

SSC 2019 seeks submissions for the following:

1. Abstracts (300 – 500 words; posters)

2. Extended Abstracts (3-4 pages; short oral presentations)

3. Full Papers (max. 12 pages; long oral presentations)

4. Poster abstracts (300 to 500 words)

5. Special Tracks

6. Workshops

7. Round Tables

For points 1-3 submissions will be handled through EasyChair. For points 4-7, please use this email address: [log in to unmask]

Important dates

• Special Track – Proposal Submission Deadline: 28 January 2019

• Special Track – Notification of Acceptance: 08 February 2019

• Abstract, Extended Abstract, Full Paper - Submission Deadline: 01 April 2019

• Publication of Call for Challenge Participation: 15 April 2019

• Abstract, Extended Abstract, Full Paper - Notification of Acceptance: 24 May 2019

• Abstract, Extended Abstract, Full Paper - Final Version Submission: 11 June 2019

Specific information

SSC 2019 seeks high-quality submissions addressing original research on social simulation / computational social science. All work must be original, i.e. must not have appeared in conference proceedings, books, or journals and may not be under review for other archival conferences, books, or journals.

All accepted submissions will be included for publication in the proceedings (the Organizing Committee is in contact with Springer) unless the author(s) choose(s) otherwise. A number of full papers will be invited to submit revised versions to JASSS.

Posters will be displayed during the entire conference period and will be presented during a dedicated session.

At least one of the authors of each submission is required to register, attend, and present the poster/paper at the conference.

The conference topics include, but are not limited to, the list at the bottom of this CfP. Unlisted but related topics are also acceptable, provided that they fit in the domain of Social Simulation.

SSC 2019 solicits extended abstracts and full papers for the following Special Tracks:

• ESSA@work

• Policy Theme Track

• ESSA Special Interest Groups Tracks

• Other Special Tracks (as submitted following the procedure described below)

ESSA@work

ESSA@work stands for discussing work-in-progress. It is a workshop concept where any modeller can receive and give support on simulation work-in-progress while being part of a self-organising group. ESSA@work aims to create space for in-depth discussions and returning back to your desk with some concrete answers to your questions.

Submit a full paper or an extended abstract to the conference. Submissions can be flagged to be presented as ESSA@work during the submission stage of your conference contribution (extended abstract or paper). In this case, the authors will be prompted with a request to provide an additional paragraph (250 words) detailing a problem or specific question that the participant would like to discuss in the ESSA@work session and some information on background and skills.

Special Tracks

– Special Track Proposal Deadline: 28 January 2019

– Special Track Notification of Acceptance: 08 February 2019

Special tracks will be held in parallel during the conference. A special track consists of a group of papers in a sub-area of the larger domain of social simulation and computational social science. ESSA Special Interest Groups, as well as interested persons, are encouraged to propose such special tracks. Proposals should include: a special track title; a draft of the special track call for papers; the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the track chairs. A successful special track will consist of at least 2-3 extended abstracts and/or full papers.

Workshops

– Workshop Proposal Deadline: 15 April 2019

– Workshop Notification of Acceptance: 10 May 2019

Workshops aim at offering a wide perspective on social simulation by means of a “hands-on” approach. The topic of the workshop can be: a) disciplinary (thematic, e.g. sustainability, or methodological, e.g. introduction to Repast); b) career development (e.g. how to succeed publishing in the social simulation domain). Proposals should include the title of the workshop and a 150-word description of the topic.

Round Tables

– Round Table Proposal Deadline: 15 April 2019

– Round Table Notification of Acceptance: 10 May 2019

The aim of round tables is to present topics and problems currently seen as shaping the nature of the domain. At a round table a pre-constituted panel discusses issues of fairly general scholarly or professional interest in front of (and subsequently with) an audience. Thus, round tables are not sequences of papers, but debate sessions. Proposals should include the title of the round table, a 150-word description of the topic, and the names and affiliations of at least three participants (including the convenor).

In addition to posters, papers presentations, workshops, and round tables, SSC 2019 aims at including:

• PhD colloquium

• Invited talks

• Policy modelling challenges

• Allocation of awards: Best Paper, Best Student Paper, Best Poster, Best PhD Thesis, “Rosaria Conte” Outstanding Award for Social Simulation, Best Scholar City Policy Model, Best Student City Policy Model

• Social events

We are looking forward to seeing you all in Mainz in September 2019!

We wish you all happy holidays and all the best for the New Year!

Organising Committee

Committee Chair: Petra Ahrweiler (Johannes Gutenberg University) [log in to unmask]

Committee Members:

Bruce Edmonds (Manchester Metropolitan University) [log in to unmask]

Nigel Gilbert (University of Surrey) [log in to unmask]

Wander Jager (University of Groningen) [log in to unmask]

Flaminio Squazzoni (University of Milan) [log in to unmask]

Programme Committee

To be constituted soon.

Contact

Local organising committee contact: [log in to unmask]

List of Conference Topics

The conference topics include, but are not limited to, the following list. Unlisted but related topics are also acceptable, provided that they fit in the domain of Social Simulation.

Tools and methods

-Advanced distributed computing, Agent ontologies,

-Agent-embodied artificial intelligence, Participatory and Human-in-the-Loop simulations,

-Approaches of aggregating-disaggregating problems,

-Coupling simulations and optimization methods,

-Data analysis software for simulations,

-Data generating models,

-Experiment design and data farming for simulations,

-Model replication, verification and validation,

-Programming computational frameworks,

-Role playing games and social simulation,

-Simulation meta-models,

-Social simulation and laboratory experiments,

-Socially inspired software applications (peer-to-peer, distributed trust etc.),

-Social simulation and software design,

-Advanced computing technologies (e.g. the grid) and social simulation,

-Statistical and data mining techniques for simulated data,

-Techniques for visualizing, interpreting and analyzing simulation outputs.

-Using qualitative data to inform behavioural rules in social simulation

Applications of Agent-based Modelling

-Agent-based computational economics and finance,

-Archaeology and History,

-Cognitive models and social simulation,

-Coupled human-natural systems,

-Crisis management,

-Demographic change simulation,

-Emergence and evolution of institutions,

-Emergence of social structures and norms,

-Epidemiology and pharmacoeconomics,

-Group decisions and collective behaviour,

-Information and opinion dynamics,

-Innovation diffusion,

-Integrated social/physical modelling for environmental policy,

-Market design, mechanism design & auctions,

-Market dynamics and consumer behaviour,

-Policy issues,

-Privacy, safety and security,

-Public policy and regulatory issues,

-Resource management and environmental practices,

-Resource management, environmental practices & policy,

-Social and regional disparities,

-Social complexity,

-Social conflict and cooperation,

-Social heterogeneity and scaling issues,

-Social media and volunteered information,

-Social networks and their dynamics, Computational organization theory,

-Social-spatial segregation modelling,

-Societal transitions,

-Trust and norm dynamics, reputation.