| The VCL, a Virtual Laboratory for the Study of Cultural Dynamics, enables the researcher to try hypothesis and confirm data analysis about several processes of cultural dynamics. The VCL is developed using agent-based modeling technology. Individuals’ tendencies and preferences as well as the behavior of cultural objects in the transformation of cultural information are taken into consideration. In addition, the effect of local interactions at different scales over time and space is visualized through the VCL interface. Informational repositories, cultural items, borders, population size, individual’s tendencies and other features are determined by the user. Finally, the researcher can also isolate specific factors whose effect on the global system might be of interest to the researcher. |
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Our model attempts to reflect the changes that information undergoes when exchanged among individuals. For this purpose, we define information by the messages that agents carry in their communicative and learning processes. We are also interested in the effects of these exchanges at the population level.In the VCL editor the user can determine certain parameters of the different types of agents in our model: individuals, messages, repositories, and cultural items.
The VCL combines two working tools: a world editor and an engine that simultaneously executes and visualizes the cultural dynamics of a defined world. The protocol followed by a user of our virtual laboratory consists of two stages. In the first stage, the researcher/user uses an editor to define the world she wishes to simulate (this includes characteristics such as geographic areas and agent sets and their properties).
In the second step, these definitions are loaded into the VCL engine, which then runs the simulation, generating diverse visualizations representing the dynamics of the virtual world as defined by the initial settings. In the VCL there are 3 examples that the researcher can use to familiarize herself with the capabilities of the simulator.
Please, be aware that both the editor and the engine will take a few seconds to appear on your screen!!!
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Note: This research has been possible thanks to the support of the Research Development Initiatives program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.