Alberto POSTIGLIONE | COOPERATIVE AGENTS FOR CONFLICTS RESOLUTION
Alberto POSTIGLIONE COOPERATIVE AGENTS FOR CONFLICTS RESOLUTION
cod. 1222500030
COOPERATIVE AGENTS FOR CONFLICTS RESOLUTION
| 1222500030 | |
| DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT & INNOVATION SYSTEMS | |
| EQF7 | |
| GLOBAL STUDIES AND EU | |
| 2021/2022 |
| OBBLIGATORIO | |
| YEAR OF COURSE 1 | |
| YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2018 | |
| AUTUMN SEMESTER |
| SSD | CFU | HOURS | ACTIVITY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INF/01 | 9 | 63 | LESSONS |
| Objectives | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE PROVIDES SIMULATION METHODS AND TOOLS (COMPUTER SCIENCE) TO ANALYZE PHENOMENA IN THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO COOPERATION IN THE COMPETITIVE FIELD. STUDENTS WILL INVESTIGATE THE REASONS THAT PUSH THE (SELFISH) ACTORS OF A SYSTEM TO SPONTANEOUSLY CHOOSE COOPERATION AS A MORE CONVENIENT MEDIUM-LONG TERM STRATEGY, EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF A HIGHER AUTHORITY THAT IMPOSES ETHICAL BEHAVIOR. A GOAL IS TO SHOW HOW COMPUTERS ARE TOOLS FOR ANALYZING THE DYNAMICS OF SOCIO-POLITICAL SYSTEMS, THROUGH MODELING AND SIMULATION TECHNIQUES. THE COURSE IS BASED ON THE SCIENCE OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND ON SOME AREAS OF GAME THEORY. A COMPLEX SYSTEM IS A SET OF ELEMENTARY COMPONENTS (WHICH PRESENT SIMPLE BEHAVIORAL RULES) THAT INTERACT IN A SIMPLE WAY BUT THAT GENERATE COMPLEX SYSTEM BEHAVIORS (THE WHOLE IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS). THEY ARE COMPLEX SYSTEMS: A SOCIETY OF HUMAN BEINGS, A FLOCK OF BIRDS, A BRAIN, A POOL OF COMPANIES, A GROUP OF NATIONS AT WAR. THE COMPONENTS OF A COMPLEX SYSTEM SPONTANEOUSLY TEND TO ORGANIZE THEMSELVES INTO ORDERED STRUCTURES STARTING FROM LOCALLY CHAOTIC SITUATIONS. THESE STRUCTURES THEN EVOLVE TO ADAPT TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD. STUDENTS WILL SEE THAT COMPLEX SYSTEMS HAVE STRUCTURE, MODES OF COMMUNICATION AND BEHAVIORS SIMILAR AND WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR THE EVOLUTION OF A COMPLEX SYSTEM. THE STUDY OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS STARTS FROM THE AWARENESS THAT UNDER THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WORLD THERE IS AN ORDER THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO STUDY WITH THE METHODS OF CLASSICAL SCIENCE, BUT ONLY USING SIMULATIVE TECHNIQUES. WITH THE SIMULATION SIMPLE RULES ARE ASSIGNED TO THE ACTORS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS, THE SYSTEM IS STARTED AND THEN THE PROPERTIES THAT COME OUT AT THE LEVEL OF THE WHOLE SOCIETY ARE OBSERVED. IN THE SECOND PART OF THE COURSE WE WILL ANALYZE COMPLEX SYSTEMS COMPOSED OF SELFISH INDIVIDUALS WHO COMPETE FOR ACCESS TO LIMITED RESOURCES IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT (COMPANIES ON THE MARKET, NATIONS AT WAR, ETC.), AND WE WILL SEE HOW THESE SYSTEMS WIN ONLY BY FAVORING COOPERATION RATHER THAN SELFISHNESS. HERE IS USED THE MODEL OF GAME THEORY KNOWN AS THE "PRISONER DILEMMA" ITERATED, WHICH ADAPTS TO MANY SITUATIONS IN REAL LIFE. IT ALLOWS US TO REPRESENT CONCEPTS SUCH AS: MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF BEHAVIORS, IMPERFECT INFORMATION ON THE CHOICES MADE BY OTHERS, SELFISHNESS OF THE ACTORS. IT SIMPLY CAPTURES THE TENSION BETWEEN THE SHORT-TERM ADVANTAGES OF SELFISH BEHAVIOR AND THE NEED TO COOPERATE WITH OTHERS TO SUCCEED IN THE LONG RUN. EACH STUDENT WILL DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT ONE OR MORE STRATEGIES FOR THE "ITERATED PRISONER'S DILEMMA" THAT WILL BE PUT IN COMPETITION WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE "CLASSIC" STRATEGIES IN AN ITALIAN TOURNAMENT. A SECOND "TOURNAMENT" WILL THEN BE IMPLEMENTED IN WHICH ONLY RANDOM STRATEGIES WILL BE ALLOWED AND, USING THE GENETIC ALGORITHM MODEL, THIS POPULATION WILL "EVOLVE" UNTIL A STRATEGY TAKES OVER. IN BOTH CASES THE STUDENT WILL SEE THAT STRATEGIES OF COOPERATION WITH RESPECT TO SELFISH STRATEGIES WILL BE SPONTANEOUSLY ESTABLISHED. FINALLY, OTHER SIMULATION MODELS WILL BE INTRODUCED FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE DYNAMICS AND FORMATION OF ALLIANCES IN A CONFLICTUAL CONTEXT, SUCH AS THE MARKET OR THE CONFLICT BETWEEN NATIONS. STUDENTS AT THE END OF THE COURSE WILL BE ABLE TO APPLY THE KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED THROUGH ALGORITHMIC SIMULATION MODELS TO REPRESENT HISTORICAL / POLITICAL SITUATIONS AND TO BE ABLE, EVENTUALLY, TO PREDICT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE. |
| Prerequisites | |
|---|---|
| BASIC CONCEPTS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, AS BY ANY COURSE OF "FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE" TAUGHT IN NON-SCIENTIFIC COURSES. A GOOD ABSTRACTION CAPACITY IS USEFUL TO IDENTIFY THE FUNDAMENTAL DATA TO BE USED DURING THE COMPUTER SIMULATION OF A PHENOMENON. |
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE INCLUDES 60 HOURS OF TEACHING (10 CFU) OF WHICH 42 ARE THEORETICAL AND 18 ARE LABORATORY, DIVIDED INTO THREE CONSECUTIVE MODULES AND CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER. FOR EACH OF THE THREE MODULES THERE IS A THEORETICAL PART AND AN EXERCITATIVE PART IN WHICH THE STUDENT WILL LEARN TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT, IN SOME CASES, AND TO USE, IN OTHER CASES, IT TOOLS. MODULE 1: COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND COMPLEX NETWORKS AS MODELS FOR SOCIAL NETWORKS (24 HOURS) INTRODUCTION TO COMPLEX SYSTEMS (8 HOURS) BASIC CONCEPTS ON GRAPHS AND THEIR MAIN MEASUREMENT PARAMETERS (4 HOURS) COMPLEX NETWORKS (4 HOURS) PERFORMANCES OF A SOCIAL NETWORK (4 HOURS) WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE DIFFUSION OF NEWS AND COMPUTER AND / OR BIOLOGICAL VIRUSES IN A SOCIAL NETWORK. SMALL WORLD CONCEPT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF WEAK TIES. LABORATORY (4 HOURS): THE BIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF A COMPLEX NETWORK, STARTING FROM THE "FITNESS PREFERENTIAL ATTACHMENT" MODEL MODULE 2: COOPERATION IN THE COMPETITIVE FIELD AND "ITERATED PRISONER'S DILEMMA" (24 HOURS) BASIC CONCEPTS ON GAME THEORY (6 HOURS) THE COMPLEXITY OF COOPERATION (2 HOURS) THE "ITERATED PRISONER DILEMMA" (2 HOURS) EVOLUTION OF STRATEGIES AND AFFIRMATION OF THOSE COOPERATIVES (6 HOURS): LABORATORY (8 HOURS): IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTERIZED "TOURNAMENTS" OF STRATEGIES FOR THE "ITERATION OF THE PRISONER" PROBLEM, WHERE EACH STUDENT CREATES AND COMPETES ONE OR MORE STRATEGIES MODULE 3: OTHER SIMULATION MODELS (12 HOURS) • EMERGENCY AND STABILIZATION OF BEHAVIORAL STANDARDS (2 HOURS) • GENETIC ALGORITHMS (2 HOURS) WHICH CONSTITUTE A HEURISTIC METHOD OF RESEARCH AND OPTIMIZATION, INSPIRED BY THE PRINCIPLE OF NATURAL SELECTION BY CHARLES DARWIN. • FORMATION OF ALLIANCES (LANDSCAPE MODEL) (1 HOUR) THE MODEL ANALYZES HOW THE VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS OF A SYSTEM FORM ALLIANCES AND COALITIONS, BASED ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THEY ARE GUIDED MAINLY BY AFFINITIES AND MUCH LESS BY PURE "NUMERICAL" STRATEGIES. IN ESSENCE, INDIVIDUALS FORM AN ALLIANCE TRYING TO MINIMIZE THE UNRELIABILITY OF THEIR PARTNERS. THERE ARE MANY APPLICATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE: ALLIANCES BETWEEN NATIONS (WORLD WAR II); STRATEGIC ALLIANCES BETWEEN COMPANIES (UNIX); COALITIONS BETWEEN PARTIES IN PARLIAMENT; RACIAL SEGREGATION AN EXERCISE WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT WILL ANALYZE THE BIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF ALLIANCES DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. • CONFLICT SIMULATION (TRIBUTE MODEL) (1 HOUR) MODEL THAT EXPLAINS THE DYNAMICS ACCORDING TO WHICH GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS (POLITICAL ACTORS, NATIONS, COMPANIES, ...) TRY TO EMERGE THROUGH ACTS OF FORCE (THREATS OR WARS) TOWARDS OTHERS. HERE TOO A COMPUTER SIMULATION WILL DEVELOP THAT WILL SIMULATE THE SECOND WORLD WAR. • LABORATORY (6 HOURS): IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS MODELS TO KNOWN EVENTS (EG WORLD WAR II) |
| Teaching Methods | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE AIMS TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO THE LIFELONG LEARNING PROCESS, WHICH INVOLVES THE CONTINUOUS UPDATING (ALL ALONG THE LIFE) OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, TRYING TO STIMULATE CURIOSITY AND INTEREST IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES. TO INCREASE THE ATTENTION AND THE ABILITY TO LEARN, THE TEACHER WILL SHOW THE "PRACTICAL" IMPLICATIONS OF WHAT IS PRESENTED IN THE LESSON AND WILL ENCOURAGE THE STUDENTS TO A CONTINUOUS INTERACTION WITH HIM AND WITH THE OTHER STUDENTS. IN THE CLASSROOM, TO MAINTAIN VIGILANT ATTENTION, SLIDES WILL BE USED, APPROPRIATELY ACCOMPANIED BY MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS. IN ORDER TO GET THEM ACCUSTOMED TO SELF-LEARNING, STUDENTS WILL BE INVITED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COURSE TOPICS BY OFFERING THEM ACCESS TO ONLINE RESOURCES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST. FROM A STRUCTURAL POINT OF VIEW, THE LESSONS WILL CONSIST OF LECTURES WITH EXAMPLES AND GUIDED EXERCISES. IN THE LAST LESSONS, THE STUDENTS, UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE TEACHER, WILL BE ORGANIZED IN A WORK TEAM AND EACH GROUP WILL BE ASSIGNED A PROJECT TO BE DEVELOPED STARTING FROM SCRATCH AND TO BE DELIVERED BY THE END OF THE COURSE. LESSONS CAN ALSO BE HELD IN ENGLISH, AS WELL AS EXERCISES AND RESEARCH REPORT PROCESSING. THEREFORE, THE USE OF DOCUMENTARY AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES IN ENGLISH IS ALSO ENVISAGED. |
| Verification of learning | |
|---|---|
| MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONNAIRE AND ORAL DISCUSSION. THE ASSESSMENT WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, AS WELL AS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT TREATED, ALSO OF THE EXHIBITION CAPACITY. |
| Texts | |
|---|---|
| ZAGARE, F.C. GAME THEORY, DIPLOMATIC HISTORY AND SECURITY STUDIES, OUP OXFORD, 2019 BARABASI, LINK. LA SCIENZA DELLE RETI, EINAUDI, 2004 GANDOLFI, A. “FORMICAI, IMPERI, CERVELLI, INTRODUZIONE ALLA SCIENZA DELLA COMPLESSITÀ”, BOLLATI BORINGHIERI, 2008 AXELROD, ROBERT “THE COMPLEXITY OF COOPERATION”, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1997 AXELROD, ROBERT “THE EVOLUTION OF COOPERATION: REVISED EDITION”, BASIC BOOKS, 2006 |
| More Information | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE SLIDES AND FURTHER COURSE MATERIAL CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE TEACHER'S WEBSITE: (HTTP://DOCENTI.UNISA.IT/000794/RESORSE) |
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