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Abstract

In this presentation, Mark Birkin will describe the Moses project, in which an urban simulation portlet has been developed. The portlet comprises a series of web services which are accessed through a thin client interface. The services range from spatial modelling of both static and dynamic populations, data access and integration, visualisation (including map-based representations), security, archiving and reporting on user scenarios. This work has been undertaken as part of the UK National Centre for e-Social Science (NCeSS).

An architecture for social simulation modelling will be described. Features of the architecture included grid-enabled access to social datasets, integrated mapping with Google Earth, the use of the Storage Resource Broker (SRB) for the federation of complex scenario outputs, and security procedures implemented through shibboleth. We will discuss the production of simulation workflows for a range of interesting problems.

Domain applications will also be illustrated using a variety of examples. To date, Moses has worked with partners interested in forecasting and impact analysis relating to the provision of health care, transport infrastructure and housing-led regeneration. We will elaborate on the nature of these examples, and the value of social simulation driven by e-research in these domains. The presentation will also invite speculation on the breadth of application of similar technologies, which we will assert to be quite extensive.

The presentation will conclude with a review of a number of remaining difficulties and issues. These extend from technical difficulties in the preparation of robust model forecasts to computational resource constraints, as well as the social and academic challenges in operating across the interface between social science and computing.

About the speaker

Mark Birkin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK. Previously he was Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Informatics at the University of Leeds (2001-2005) and Managing Director of GMAP Limited (1996-2001). Mark has long-standing research interests in geographical information systems (GIS), spatial microsimulation, geodemographics, and ‘what if?’ predictive modelling. He is currently the Principal Investigator of Moses, a research node of the UK e-social science programme (www.ncess.ac.uk