Human Simulation: Perspectives, Insights, and Applications

Human Simulation: Perspectives, Insights, and Applications
Author: Saikou Y. Diallo
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2019-08-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 303017090X

This uniquely inspirational and practical book explores human simulation, which is the application of computational modeling and simulation to research subjects in the humanities disciplines. It delves into the fascinating process of collaboration among experts who usually don’t have much to do with one another – computer engineers and humanities scholars – from the perspective of the humanities scholars. It also explains the process of developing models and simulations in these interdisciplinary teams. Each chapter takes the reader on a journey, presenting a specific theory about the human condition, a model of that theory, discussion of its implementation, analysis of its results, and an account of the collaborative experience. Contributing authors with different fields of expertise share how each model was validated, discuss relevant datasets, explain development strategies, and frankly discuss the ups and downs of the process of collaborative development. Readers are given access to the models and will also gain new perspectives from the authors’ findings, experiences, and recommendations. Today we are in the early phases of an information revolution, combining access to vast computing resources, large amounts of human data through social media, and an unprecedented richness of methods and tools to capture, analyze, explore, and test hypotheses and theories of all kinds. Thus, this book’s insights will be valuable not only to students and scholars of humanities subjects, but also to the general reader and researchers from other disciplines who are intrigued by the expansion of the information revolution all the way into the humanities departments of modern universities.

An Introduction to the Cognitive Science of Religion

An Introduction to the Cognitive Science of Religion
Author: Claire White
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2021-03-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1351010956

In recent decades, a new scientific approach to understand, explain, and predict many features of religion has emerged. The cognitive science of religion (CSR) has amassed research on the forces that shape the tendency for humans to be religious and on what forms belief takes. It suggests that religion, like language or music, naturally emerges in humans with tractable similarities. This new approach has profound implications for how we understand religion, including why it appears so easily, and why people are willing to fight—and die—for it. Yet it is not without its critics, and some fear that scholars are explaining the ineffable mystery of religion away, or showing that religion is natural proves or disproves the existence of God. An Introduction to the Cognitive Science of Religion offers students and general readers an accessible introduction to the approach, providing an overview of key findings and the debates that shape it. The volume includes a glossary of key terms, and each chapter includes suggestions for further thought and further reading as well as chapter summaries highlighting key points. This book is an indispensable resource for introductory courses on religion and a much-needed option for advanced courses.

Religion in Multidisciplinary Perspective

Religion in Multidisciplinary Perspective
Author: F. LeRon Shults
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2022-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1438487428

Religion in Multidisciplinary Perspective provides the first comprehensive treatment of the work of Wesley J. Wildman, one of the most inventive thinkers in the field of religious studies. Scholars with expertise in philosophical, theological, and scientific approaches to the study of religion offer critical and constructive engagements with Wildman's astonishingly creative and integrative oeuvre. The essays address themes that will be of interest to those concerned with the current state of scholarship on religion from a variety of disciplines, including philosophy, theology, ethics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and others. The volume concludes with a response by Wildman.

Understanding Religion Through Artificial Intelligence

Understanding Religion Through Artificial Intelligence
Author: Justin E. Lane
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2021-05-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 135010356X

In Understanding Religion through Artificial Intelligence, Justin E. Lane looks at the reasons why humans feel they are part of a religious group, despite often being removed from other group members by vast distances or multiple generations. To achieve this, Lane offers a new perspective that integrates religious studies with psychology, anthropology, and data science, as well as with research at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI). After providing a critical analysis of approaches to religion and social cohesion, Lane proposes a new model for religious studies, which he calls the “Information Identity System.” This model focuses on the idea of conceptual ties: links between an individual's self-concept and the ancient beliefs of their religious group. Lane explores this idea through real-world examples, ranging from the rise in global Pentecostalism, to religious extremism and self-radicalization, to the effect of 9/11 on sermons. Lane uses this lens to show how we can understand religion and culture today, and how we can better contextualize the changes we see in the social world around us.

Advances in Social Simulation

Advances in Social Simulation
Author: Petra Ahrweiler
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 603
Release: 2021-04-26
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3030615030

This book presents the state of the art in social simulation as presented at the Social Simulation Conference 2019 in Mainz, Germany. It covers the developments in applications and methods of social simulation, addressing societal issues such as socio-ecological systems and policymaking. Methodological issues discussed include large-scale empirical calibration, model sharing and interdisciplinary research, as well as decision-making models, validation and the use of qualitative data in simulation modeling. Research areas covered include archaeology, cognitive science, economics, organization science and social simulation education. This book gives readers insight into the increasing use of social simulation in both its theoretical development and in practical applications such as policymaking whereby modeling and the behavior of complex systems is key. The book appeals to students, researchers and professionals in the various fields.

Social-Behavioral Modeling for Complex Systems

Social-Behavioral Modeling for Complex Systems
Author: Paul K. Davis
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 995
Release: 2019-03-13
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1119484987

This volume describes frontiers in social-behavioral modeling for contexts as diverse as national security, health, and on-line social gaming. Recent scientific and technological advances have created exciting opportunities for such improvements. However, the book also identifies crucial scientific, ethical, and cultural challenges to be met if social-behavioral modeling is to achieve its potential. Doing so will require new methods, data sources, and technology. The volume discusses these, including those needed to achieve and maintain high standards of ethics and privacy. The result should be a new generation of modeling that will advance science and, separately, aid decision-making on major social and security-related subjects despite the myriad uncertainties and complexities of social phenomena. Intended to be relatively comprehensive in scope, the volume balances theory-driven, data-driven, and hybrid approaches. The latter may be rapidly iterative, as when artificial-intelligence methods are coupled with theory-driven insights to build models that are sound, comprehensible and usable in new situations. With the intent of being a milestone document that sketches a research agenda for the next decade, the volume draws on the wisdom, ideas and suggestions of many noted researchers who draw in turn from anthropology, communications, complexity science, computer science, defense planning, economics, engineering, health systems, medicine, neuroscience, physics, political science, psychology, public policy and sociology. In brief, the volume discusses: Cutting-edge challenges and opportunities in modeling for social and behavioral science Special requirements for achieving high standards of privacy and ethics New approaches for developing theory while exploiting both empirical and computational data Issues of reproducibility, communication, explanation, and validation Special requirements for models intended to inform decision making about complex social systems

The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion

The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion
Author: Steven Engler
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 670
Release: 2021-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000472639

This substantially revised second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion remains the only comprehensive survey in English of methods and methodology in the discipline. Designed for non-specialists and upper undergraduate-/graduate-level students, it discusses the range of methods currently available to stimulate interest in unfamiliar methods and enable students and scholars to evaluate methodological issues in research. The Handbook comprises 39 chapters – 21 of which are new, and the rest revised for this edition. A total of 56 contributors from 10 countries cover a broad range of topics divided into three clear parts: • Methodology • Methods • Techniques The first section addresses general methodological issues: including comparison, research design, research ethics, intersectionality, and theorizing/analysis. The second addresses specific methods: including advanced computational methods, autoethnography, computational text analysis, digital ethnography, discourse analysis, experiments, field research, grounded theory, interviewing, reading images, surveys, and videography. The final section addresses specific techniques: including coding, focus groups, photo elicitation, and survey experiments. Each chapter covers practical issues and challenges, theoretical bases, and their use in the study of religion/s, illustrated by case studies. The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion is essential reading for students and researchers in the study of religion/s, as well as for those in related disciplines.

Modeling Religion

Modeling Religion
Author: Wesley J. Wildman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2024-06-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1350367311

What role has religion played in the major civilizational transformations associated with the Neolithic Revolution, the Axial Age, and Modernity? This book introduces new methodological tools and material insights for guiding conversations about these debates. The authors introduce a new branch of computational humanities, using computational modeling to simulate civilizational transformations. They integrate multiple theories across many disciplines, including the scientific study of religion, and evaluate the relative importance of those causal theories in processes of civilizational change. Materially, the book sheds new light on major debates among historians, archaeologists, and other social theorists on the role of religion within these major transitions. The book tackles the urgent question of what sort of civilizational transformations might be possible in a world where the influence and significance of religion continues to decline wherever technology, education, freedom, and cultural pluralism are most advanced.

Multi-Level Reconciliation and Peacebuilding

Multi-Level Reconciliation and Peacebuilding
Author: Kevin P. Clements
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2020-12-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000293998

This edited volume examines the group dynamics of social reconciliation in conflict-affected societies by adopting ideas developed in social psychology and the everyday peace discourse in peace and conflict studies. The book revisits the intra- and inter-group dynamics of social reconciliation in conflict-affected societies, which have been largely marginalised in mainstream peacebuilding debates. By applying social psychological perspectives and the discourse of everyday peace, the chapters explore the everyday experience of community actors engaged in social and political reconciliation. The first part of the volume introduces conceptual and theoretical studies that focus on the pros and cons of state-level reconciliation and their outcomes, while presenting theoretical insights into dialogical processes upon which reconciliation studies can develop further. The second part presents a series of empirical case studies from around the world, which examine the process of social reconciliation at community levels through the lens of social psychology and discourse analysis. This book will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, social psychology, discourse analysis and international relations in general.