I like the example of an epidemic and attempting to predict how the epidemic would/could spread. I am fascinated by disease and disease transmission and the variety of factors that affect it… There are so many factors that will affect the spread of a disease, human interactions, hygeine, sanitation practices, food, etc. The first question that needs to be answered is what is the transmission rate (r-naught value) of the disease and then attempt to identify the index case. You need to answer how the disease is transmitted, how long it survives outside the host, etc.
I would like to explore the epidemic model. We currently do the Red Disease simulation in class, which works well, especially with having the student look for patterns to determine who started it. A computer simulation would allow another way to view an epidemic and then both of the models could be compared for strengths and weaknesses - no model is perfect. For this simulation, agents would include the number of individuals involved, carriers, how fast the “disease” spreads, how it could be passed around, fatalities, etc. Environmentally, it could bet set in a building, city or larger area. Pretty much, you could do whatever you wanted.
Sounds like it would work perfectly as you describe it. Wouldn’t it be interesting to compare our local data’s simulation with that of another area? Do they mirror each other? Differences - if so, why?
My complex system would be the human body and how it maintains homeostasis. The agents would be things like pulse, temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients. These agents would have to interact and adapt to each other in order to maintain homeostasis and keep the human model alive.
I would like to use the phenomenon of natural selection with dark and light colored peppered moths in different environments including pollution, smog, etc. Students will analyze the survival rates among the agents in the different settings.
Great use of agent based modeling! The name “frankenfish” will certainly gain students’ attention so they will be even more interested in learning how this species will affect the Bay.
I would look at the human body, and its ability to absorb nutrients when an agent such as sugar or caffeine is introduced.
I would use an example given in the video. I would like to use this to study epidemics. I think that my students would really enjoy it.
Energy transfers and pollution would be interesting to do using this. It would be demonstrated well by using populations a a food web or chain. The agents would be the pollution put in the beginning and the outcome would be to follow the pollution through the energy transfer.
The spread of infection can be demonstrated using this model. The agents would include healthy and infected individuals in a semi restricted area, such as an office building. Infected individuals would interact with healthy individuals, causing the infection to spread. Infected individuals would have a recovery time in this experiment. This would test the time it takes for infection to spread and possibly eliminated in a semi restricted area.
Social Media nowadays are mentioned just about everywhere. People are connected with their devices like never before. We are witnessing a complex adaptive system unfold right in front of our devices when whales give birth, or a child take his first steps, or a dog sleeping on a hammock. All happening in an environment that is personal and global, using a galaxy of technologies, that is interacting with people, live.
I wanted to study the possible collision of Near Earth objects with our planet. The agents are the various asteroids, comets and space debris and the environment is space. The system would need to include information about the mass of the object, its speed and its distance from the gravitational pull of any close celestial objects.
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Previously I used the idea of plants and animals and how they react to drought. The agents would be the amount of rain, the plants and the animals. The environment would be the region affected by drought. The plants and animals require water to survive and the lack of water could reduce or eliminate the plants and animals. Can the plants and animals move back in from the boundaries of the drought region?
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I chose the phenomenon of co-evolution of species, such as a hummingbird with nectar-producing flowers. The agents are the individual organisms in both species. The environment includes their habitats, other abiotic factors affecting the habitat, but also the other organisms a species is co-evolving with. An example of an interaction between the agents would be if a flower that had a deeper(truer?) shade of red attracted hummingbirds better. The hummingbirds pollinate and help populate this deeper-breeding plant. This could lead to the evolution of the species having only that shade of red.The hummingbird may evolve to only see that shade of red.
I thought about ecosystems and overpopulation. The agents are the organisms and limiting factors, such as food, space, disease, etc. The environment would be where that organism is living and that holds the various limiting factors. The interactions between the agents occur when the organisms are going on with their daily life. Production of more offspring will impact the amount of food and that will impact the resources available in that environment.
I chose weather fronts, so to be more specific the formation of cumulonimbus clouds. The agents would be temperature, humidity, wind, and elevation in mid to late summer when temperatures rise in the late afternoon.
The complex adaptive system that I originally chose was changes in states of matter. The agents would be the chemical molecules and the materials used to provide changes in temperature (heat lamps, sun, freezer, etc.). The interactions would occur between the agents and the environment.
The phenomenon I am choosing is how invasive species affect the of noninvasive species.
The agents are the invasive species(Russian Olive Tree) and noninvasive species(Willow Tree).
The environment would be the Snake River.
For every 5 Russian Olive that grows, 1 Willow dies.
What a great idea! This would be a great model to show how the immune system works. You could even go as far as using different diseases to show how the immune system reacts in different situations. It would be a great way to show how with many diseases the body ends up loosing.
The Complex Adaptive System that I am choosing is a hurricane (aka typhoon in the Eastern World). The agent and environment consist of WARM WATER, the EQUATOR, AIR, WIND (trade winds) and LAND. While there are more complex components, these are the basics agents needed. Because hurricanes begin as “Tropical Storms”, they use these agents such as WARM WATER and AIR as food. Similar to the video in which the fish ate the algae for energy, the tropical storms act in the same manner. The more energy the storm gains, the stronger it becomes, leading to its transformation into a Hurricane. When the storm hits LAND it looses energy!