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Re: [Swarm Modelling] Project on GRID-mediated access to agent-based mod
From: |
Russell Standish |
Subject: |
Re: [Swarm Modelling] Project on GRID-mediated access to agent-based models |
Date: |
Wed, 19 Feb 2003 15:10:47 +1100 (EST) |
Dear Nick,
I would be interested in trying this out. We have some
experience in using swarm, so should be able to run your model as a
check. We also have a watching brief on Grid technologies, and I'm
interested to see how ABM perform over grids.
Cheers
Nick Gotts wrote:
>
> Apologies if you receive multiple copies of the message below. Since FEARLUS
> is written using the Swarm libraries, I thought members of this list might
> well be interested.
>
> Regards,
> Nick Gotts
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> As you are no doubt aware, one of the key problems for computer
> modelling in academic research is that of repeatability. For novel
> approaches such as agent-based modelling in particular, researchers
> need to be able to examine, experiment with, and use each others'
> models, (and to take the time to do so) if we are to go beyond
> producing and describing interesting models, to their effective use in
> social science and policy contexts. We consider that emerging "Grid"
> related technologies (http://www.gridforum.org/,
> http://www.semanticgrid.org/) have the potential to support a new
> level of collaborative/competitive interactions between research teams
> in agent-based modelling and related areas, and write to invite your
> participation in a proposed pilot project, exploring the potential of
> the Grid to contribute to e-Social Science. This is a matter of
> urgency, as we have an application deadline of 26 February to meet.
>
> In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, we are
> writing a proposal to a UK funding body, for a 12-18 month pilot
> project that would involve making the FEARLUS model of land-use change
> (http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/fearlus/) available via Grid technologies,
> specifically the emerging Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA),
> which aims to integrate Grid and Web service concepts and technologies
> (http://www.globus.org/ogsa/). This would allow us to make our model
> available as a service for other researchers to use, with the effect
> that they could run large-scale experiments with FEARLUS on
> high-performance computing facilities without having to download and
> compile it. The pilot project is being designed with a view to
> forming an EU FP6 Integrated Project to do the same with many other
> models.
>
> The proposed work will include: (1) describing FEARLUS as a Grid
> service, so that remote users can discover and invoke it, and obtain
> interpretable results; (2) maintaining histories of interactions with
> users, allowing experiments to be replayed and results to be
> aggregated; (3) managing the Grid service, to control user access and
> allocation of resources. It would assist us greatly in this initial
> project if we could identify a few colleagues willing to be named in
> our pilot project proposal, as agreeing to help to assess the planned
> Grid deployment of FEARLUS, in one of two possible roles:
>
> (a) In a research role, either comparing results from your own model
> with those from FEARLUS, checking results in FEARLUS publications, or
> exploring FEARLUS's capabilities and limitations as a stage in the
> process of designing a new model.
>
> (b) In a teaching role, using FEARLUS as part of an appropriate
> lecture course (FEARLUS has already been used in teaching at
> postgraduate level).
>
> Agreeing to be named in the proposal would not constitute or imply a
> legal or contractual obligation to take part in the assessment
> process, but of course we would want to name anyone who did not expect
> to do so. The requirements of doing so would be a negotiable amount of
> time for the work involved in (a) or (b) above, and to give us
> feedback from that work (perhaps by answering a questionnaire); and
> possibly a willingness to install a thin client to access FEARLUS over
> the Grid.
>
> Those willing to be named will (if the application succeeds) be
> consulted about the facilities to be made available, to maximise the
> benefit to their own teaching and/or research. We believe they will
> benefit from our experience of planning and undertaking the Grid
> deployment of an agent-based model, and will be in an improved
> position to join in potential Grid-related and e-Social Science
> projects - ours and others'. Specifically, we would hope they would be
> interested in joining us in the follow-up proposal to the EU. Although
> it is unlikely we would be able to pay you for your time in
> participating in this exercise, any other expenses incurred would be
> reimbursed.
>
> If you are interested in getting involved, please could you let us
> know as soon as possible (but no later than 24 February) which role
> you would be prepared to take (or indeed if there is another role you
> can think of that you would prefer). Naturally we will not include
> your name without explicit permission, and are ready to answer
> questions to the best of our ability.
>
> Yours,
> Nick Gotts and Gary Polhill
>
> Nick Gotts
> Macaulay Land Use Research Institute
> Aberdeen AB15 8QH
> Scotland, UK
>
> Tel: +44 (0)1224 498200 ext. 2229
> Fax: +44 (0)1224 311556
> e-mail: address@hidden
> http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/fearlus
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A/Prof Russell Standish Director
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