One of the approaches gaining ground in policy design is the implementation of combinations of policy measures as policy packages with the aim of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the designed policies. In this paper, we describe the recent advancements in the developments of a virtual environment for the exploration and analysis of policy packages. The virtual environment uses an agent-based modelling approach for the generation of different configurations of policy measures in the policy packages. The benefit of using the approach is the proactive and flexible generation of policy packages as the agents can react to the changes that occur and create packages that are more robust. The system allows faster examination of more alternatives, further exploration of the design space, and testing the effects of changes and uncertainties while formulating policies. The results demonstrate the benefit of using agent-based modelling approaches in the design of complex policies.
A virtual environment for formulation of policy packagesAraz Taeihagh
The interdependence and complexity of socio-technical systems and availability of a wide variety of policy measures to address policy problems make the process of policy formulation difficult. In order to formulate sustainable and efficient transport policies, development of new tools and techniques is necessary. One of the approaches gaining ground is policy packaging, which shifts focus from implementation of individual policy measures to implementation of combinations of measures with the aim of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of policy interventions by increasing synergies and reducing potential contradictions among policy measures. In this paper, we describe the development of a virtual environment for the exploration and analysis of different configurations of policy measures in order to build policy packages. By developing systematic approaches it is possible to examine more alternatives at a greater depth, decrease the time required for the overall analysis, provide real-time assessment and feedback on the effect of changes in the configurations, and ultimately form more effective policies. The results from this research demonstrate the usefulness of computational approaches in addressing the complexity inherent in the formulation of policy packages. This new approach has been applied to the formulation of policies to advance sustainable transportation.
Which policy first? A network-centric approach for the analysis and ranking o...Araz Taeihagh
In addressing various policy problems, deciding which policy measure to start with given the range of measures available is challenging and essentially involves a process of ranking the alternatives, commonly done using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques. In this paper a new methodology for analysis and ranking of policy measures is introduced which combines network analysis and MCDA tools. This methodology not only considers the internal properties of the measures but also their interactions with other potential measures. Consideration of such interactions provides additional insights into the process of policy formulation and can help domain experts and policy makers to better assess the policy measures and to understand the complexities involved. This new methodology is applied in this paper to the formulation of a policy to increase walking and cycling.
Two important challenges in policy design are better understanding of the design
space and consideration of the temporal factors. Moreover, in recent years it has been
demonstrated that understanding the complex interactions of policy measures can play an
important role in policy design and analysis. In this paper, the advances made in conceptualization
and application of networks to policy design in the past decade are highlighted.
Specifically, the use of a network-centric policy design approach in better
understanding the design space and temporal consequences of design choices are presented.
Network-centric policy design approach has been used in classification, visualization,
and analysis of the relations among policy measures as well as ranking of policy
measures using their internal properties and interactions, and conducting sensitivity
analysis using Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, through use of a decision support
system, network-centric approach facilitates ranking, visualization, and selection of policies
using different sets of criteria, and exploring the potential for compromise in policy
formulation. The advantage of the network-centric approach is providing the ability to go
beyond visualizations and analysis of policies and piecemeal use of network concepts as a
tool for different policy design tasks to moving to a more integrated bottom–up approach to
design. Furthermore, the computational advantages of the network-centric policy design in
considering temporal factors such as policy sequencing and addressing issues such as
layering, drift, policy failure, and delay are presented. Finally, some of the current challenges
of network-centric design are discussed, and some potential avenues of exploration
in policy design through use of computational methodologies, as well as possible integration
with approaches from other disciplines, are highlighted.
Analysing Stakeholder Consensus for a Sustainable Transport Development Decis...BME
In any public service development decision, it is essential to reach the stakeholders’ agreement to gain a sustainable result, which is accepted by all involved groups. In case this criterion is violated, the impact of the development will be less than expected due to the resistance of one group or another. Concerning public urban transport decisions, the lack of consensus might cause lower utilisation of public vehicles, thus more severe environmental damage, traffic problems and negative economic impacts. This paper aims to introduce a decision support procedure (applying the current MCDM techniques; Fuzzy and Interval AHP) which is capable of analysing and creating consensus among different stakeholder participants in a transport development problem. The combined application of FAHP and IAHP ensures that the consensus creation is not only based on an automated computation process (just as in IAHP) but also on the consideration of specific group interests. Thus, the decision makers have the liberty to express their preferences in urban planning, along with the consideration of numerical results. The procedure has been tested in a real public transport improvement decision as a follow-up project, in an emerging city, Mersin, Turkey. Results show that by the application of the proposed techniques, decision-makers can be more aware of the conflicts of interests among the involved groups, and they can pay more attention to possible violations.
This paper focuses on the ways in which policymakers can improve policy-performance and decision-making for Co-Benefits by using as Systems Analytical Decision-Making Model.
The paper, which is yet tp be officially unpublished, was first delivered at the U.S. - Japan Workshop on Climate Actins and Developmental Co-Benefits, in March, 5-6, 2007, in Washington, DC held at the World Resources Institute.
The correspoding presentation is attached to the profile in the presentation section of my profile. The paper and presentation were subsequently adapted and was included in the Society of Learning, (SoL), Sustainability Consortium Newsletter Summer, 2008, that focuses on othe ways in which Best Practices can be used to improve policy performance in dynamic political situations. The newsletter version of the paper is aslo attached to this profile.
Note: This is an unpublished paper, if you wish to use it in part or in whole, please contact me at myrafrazier68@aol.com.
Impact evaluations aim to predict the future, but they are rooted in particular contexts and to what extent they generalize is an open and important question. I founded an organization to systematically collect and synthesize impact evaluation results on a wide variety of interventions in development. These data allow me to answer this and other questions for the rst time using a large data set of studies. I consider several measures of generalizability, discuss the strengths and limitations of each metric, and provide benchmarks based on the data. I use the example of the eect of conditional cash transfers on enrollment rates to show how some of the heterogeneity can be modelled and the eect this can have on the generalizability measures. The predictive power of the model improves over time as more studies are completed. Finally, I show how researchers can
estimate the generalizability of their own study using their own data, even when data from no comparable studies exist.
Read more at: www.hhs.se/site
A virtual environment for formulation of policy packagesAraz Taeihagh
The interdependence and complexity of socio-technical systems and availability of a wide variety of policy measures to address policy problems make the process of policy formulation difficult. In order to formulate sustainable and efficient transport policies, development of new tools and techniques is necessary. One of the approaches gaining ground is policy packaging, which shifts focus from implementation of individual policy measures to implementation of combinations of measures with the aim of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of policy interventions by increasing synergies and reducing potential contradictions among policy measures. In this paper, we describe the development of a virtual environment for the exploration and analysis of different configurations of policy measures in order to build policy packages. By developing systematic approaches it is possible to examine more alternatives at a greater depth, decrease the time required for the overall analysis, provide real-time assessment and feedback on the effect of changes in the configurations, and ultimately form more effective policies. The results from this research demonstrate the usefulness of computational approaches in addressing the complexity inherent in the formulation of policy packages. This new approach has been applied to the formulation of policies to advance sustainable transportation.
Which policy first? A network-centric approach for the analysis and ranking o...Araz Taeihagh
In addressing various policy problems, deciding which policy measure to start with given the range of measures available is challenging and essentially involves a process of ranking the alternatives, commonly done using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques. In this paper a new methodology for analysis and ranking of policy measures is introduced which combines network analysis and MCDA tools. This methodology not only considers the internal properties of the measures but also their interactions with other potential measures. Consideration of such interactions provides additional insights into the process of policy formulation and can help domain experts and policy makers to better assess the policy measures and to understand the complexities involved. This new methodology is applied in this paper to the formulation of a policy to increase walking and cycling.
Two important challenges in policy design are better understanding of the design
space and consideration of the temporal factors. Moreover, in recent years it has been
demonstrated that understanding the complex interactions of policy measures can play an
important role in policy design and analysis. In this paper, the advances made in conceptualization
and application of networks to policy design in the past decade are highlighted.
Specifically, the use of a network-centric policy design approach in better
understanding the design space and temporal consequences of design choices are presented.
Network-centric policy design approach has been used in classification, visualization,
and analysis of the relations among policy measures as well as ranking of policy
measures using their internal properties and interactions, and conducting sensitivity
analysis using Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, through use of a decision support
system, network-centric approach facilitates ranking, visualization, and selection of policies
using different sets of criteria, and exploring the potential for compromise in policy
formulation. The advantage of the network-centric approach is providing the ability to go
beyond visualizations and analysis of policies and piecemeal use of network concepts as a
tool for different policy design tasks to moving to a more integrated bottom–up approach to
design. Furthermore, the computational advantages of the network-centric policy design in
considering temporal factors such as policy sequencing and addressing issues such as
layering, drift, policy failure, and delay are presented. Finally, some of the current challenges
of network-centric design are discussed, and some potential avenues of exploration
in policy design through use of computational methodologies, as well as possible integration
with approaches from other disciplines, are highlighted.
Analysing Stakeholder Consensus for a Sustainable Transport Development Decis...BME
In any public service development decision, it is essential to reach the stakeholders’ agreement to gain a sustainable result, which is accepted by all involved groups. In case this criterion is violated, the impact of the development will be less than expected due to the resistance of one group or another. Concerning public urban transport decisions, the lack of consensus might cause lower utilisation of public vehicles, thus more severe environmental damage, traffic problems and negative economic impacts. This paper aims to introduce a decision support procedure (applying the current MCDM techniques; Fuzzy and Interval AHP) which is capable of analysing and creating consensus among different stakeholder participants in a transport development problem. The combined application of FAHP and IAHP ensures that the consensus creation is not only based on an automated computation process (just as in IAHP) but also on the consideration of specific group interests. Thus, the decision makers have the liberty to express their preferences in urban planning, along with the consideration of numerical results. The procedure has been tested in a real public transport improvement decision as a follow-up project, in an emerging city, Mersin, Turkey. Results show that by the application of the proposed techniques, decision-makers can be more aware of the conflicts of interests among the involved groups, and they can pay more attention to possible violations.
This paper focuses on the ways in which policymakers can improve policy-performance and decision-making for Co-Benefits by using as Systems Analytical Decision-Making Model.
The paper, which is yet tp be officially unpublished, was first delivered at the U.S. - Japan Workshop on Climate Actins and Developmental Co-Benefits, in March, 5-6, 2007, in Washington, DC held at the World Resources Institute.
The correspoding presentation is attached to the profile in the presentation section of my profile. The paper and presentation were subsequently adapted and was included in the Society of Learning, (SoL), Sustainability Consortium Newsletter Summer, 2008, that focuses on othe ways in which Best Practices can be used to improve policy performance in dynamic political situations. The newsletter version of the paper is aslo attached to this profile.
Note: This is an unpublished paper, if you wish to use it in part or in whole, please contact me at myrafrazier68@aol.com.
Impact evaluations aim to predict the future, but they are rooted in particular contexts and to what extent they generalize is an open and important question. I founded an organization to systematically collect and synthesize impact evaluation results on a wide variety of interventions in development. These data allow me to answer this and other questions for the rst time using a large data set of studies. I consider several measures of generalizability, discuss the strengths and limitations of each metric, and provide benchmarks based on the data. I use the example of the eect of conditional cash transfers on enrollment rates to show how some of the heterogeneity can be modelled and the eect this can have on the generalizability measures. The predictive power of the model improves over time as more studies are completed. Finally, I show how researchers can
estimate the generalizability of their own study using their own data, even when data from no comparable studies exist.
Read more at: www.hhs.se/site
The volume of research greatly exceeds its application in practice. Researchers must pay greater attention to the production of their research findings in a flexible range of formats in recognition of the varied needs of consumers.
BDVe Webinar Series - Big Data for Public Policy, the state of play - Data-dr...Big Data Value Association
Do you know how data-driven approaches can influence the policy cycle and the benefits derived from this? Have you ever participated in a policy-lab, collaborating with other stakeholders to develop and test a policy? In this session, Anne Fleur van Veenstra from TNO will delve into current practices, insights and lessons learnt from current policy-lab projects, followed by Francesco Mureddu, from the Lisbon Council, who will look ahead and identify the main challenges and opportunities by presenting and discussing a roadmap for Future Research Directions in data-driven Policy Making.
David Fleming held a seminar on monitoring and evaluation in conflict-affected environments at the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), University of York.
“Illustration of a proposed ReSAKSS-Asia website tool”, presented by Michael Johnson and Bingxin Yu, IFPRI at the ReSAKSS-Asia Conference, Nov 14-16, 2011, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Computational Modelling of Public PolicyReflections on Prac.docxmccormicknadine86
Computational Modelling of Public Policy:
Reflections on Practice
Nigel Gilbert1, Petra Ahrweiler2, Pete Barbrook-Johnson1, Kavin
Preethi Narasimhan1, Helen Wilkinson3
1Department of Sociology, University of Surrey Guildford, GU2 7XH United Kingdom
2Institute of Sociology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 20, 55128 Mainz, Germany
3Risk
Solution
s, Dallam Court, Dallam Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, WA2 7LT, United Kingdom
Correspondence should be addressed to [email protected]
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation 21(1) 14, 2018
Doi: 10.18564/jasss.3669 Url: http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/21/1/14.html
Received: 11-01-2018 Accepted: 11-01-2018 Published: 31-01-2018
Abstract: Computational models are increasingly being used to assist in developing, implementing and evalu-
ating public policy. This paper reports on the experience of the authors in designing and using computational
models of public policy (‘policy models’, for short). The paper considers the role of computational models in
policy making, and some of the challenges that need to be overcome if policy models are to make an e�ec-
tive contribution. It suggests that policy models can have an important place in the policy process because
they could allow policy makers to experiment in a virtual world, and have many advantages compared with
randomised control trials and policy pilots. The paper then summarises some general lessons that can be ex-
tracted from the authors’ experiencewith policymodelling. These general lessons include the observation that
o�en themain benefit of designing andusing amodel is that it provides anunderstanding of the policy domain,
rather than the numbers it generates; that care needs to be taken that models are designed at an appropriate
level of abstraction; that although appropriate data for calibration and validation may sometimes be in short
supply, modelling is o�en still valuable; that modelling collaboratively and involving a range of stakeholders
from the outset increases the likelihood that the model will be used and will be fit for purpose; that attention
needs to be paid to e�ective communication betweenmodellers and stakeholders; and thatmodelling for pub-
lic policy involves ethical issues that need careful consideration. The paper concludes that policy modelling
will continue to grow in importance as a component of public policy making processes, but if its potential is to
be fully realised, there will need to be amelding of the cultures of computationalmodelling and policymaking.
Keywords: Policy Modelling, Policy Evaluation, Policy Appraisal, Modelling Guidelines, Collaboration, Ethics
Introduction
1.1 Computationalmodels have been used to assist in developing, implementing and evaluating public policies for
at least three decades, but their potential remains to be fully exploited (Johnston & Desouza 2015; Anzola et al.
2017; Barbrook-Johnson et al. 2017). In this paper, using a selection of examples of ...
Quick facts on measure selection. Selecting the most effective packages of measures for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans.
Measure selection is the process of identifying the most suitable and cost effective mobility and transport measures to achieve the vision and objectives of a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and to overcome the identified local problems. Even where vision, objectives and problems are defined, it may not be obvious what measures are most appropriate.
The volume of research greatly exceeds its application in practice. Researchers must pay greater attention to the production of their research findings in a flexible range of formats in recognition of the varied needs of consumers.
BDVe Webinar Series - Big Data for Public Policy, the state of play - Data-dr...Big Data Value Association
Do you know how data-driven approaches can influence the policy cycle and the benefits derived from this? Have you ever participated in a policy-lab, collaborating with other stakeholders to develop and test a policy? In this session, Anne Fleur van Veenstra from TNO will delve into current practices, insights and lessons learnt from current policy-lab projects, followed by Francesco Mureddu, from the Lisbon Council, who will look ahead and identify the main challenges and opportunities by presenting and discussing a roadmap for Future Research Directions in data-driven Policy Making.
David Fleming held a seminar on monitoring and evaluation in conflict-affected environments at the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), University of York.
“Illustration of a proposed ReSAKSS-Asia website tool”, presented by Michael Johnson and Bingxin Yu, IFPRI at the ReSAKSS-Asia Conference, Nov 14-16, 2011, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Computational Modelling of Public PolicyReflections on Prac.docxmccormicknadine86
Computational Modelling of Public Policy:
Reflections on Practice
Nigel Gilbert1, Petra Ahrweiler2, Pete Barbrook-Johnson1, Kavin
Preethi Narasimhan1, Helen Wilkinson3
1Department of Sociology, University of Surrey Guildford, GU2 7XH United Kingdom
2Institute of Sociology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 20, 55128 Mainz, Germany
3Risk
Solution
s, Dallam Court, Dallam Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, WA2 7LT, United Kingdom
Correspondence should be addressed to [email protected]
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation 21(1) 14, 2018
Doi: 10.18564/jasss.3669 Url: http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/21/1/14.html
Received: 11-01-2018 Accepted: 11-01-2018 Published: 31-01-2018
Abstract: Computational models are increasingly being used to assist in developing, implementing and evalu-
ating public policy. This paper reports on the experience of the authors in designing and using computational
models of public policy (‘policy models’, for short). The paper considers the role of computational models in
policy making, and some of the challenges that need to be overcome if policy models are to make an e�ec-
tive contribution. It suggests that policy models can have an important place in the policy process because
they could allow policy makers to experiment in a virtual world, and have many advantages compared with
randomised control trials and policy pilots. The paper then summarises some general lessons that can be ex-
tracted from the authors’ experiencewith policymodelling. These general lessons include the observation that
o�en themain benefit of designing andusing amodel is that it provides anunderstanding of the policy domain,
rather than the numbers it generates; that care needs to be taken that models are designed at an appropriate
level of abstraction; that although appropriate data for calibration and validation may sometimes be in short
supply, modelling is o�en still valuable; that modelling collaboratively and involving a range of stakeholders
from the outset increases the likelihood that the model will be used and will be fit for purpose; that attention
needs to be paid to e�ective communication betweenmodellers and stakeholders; and thatmodelling for pub-
lic policy involves ethical issues that need careful consideration. The paper concludes that policy modelling
will continue to grow in importance as a component of public policy making processes, but if its potential is to
be fully realised, there will need to be amelding of the cultures of computationalmodelling and policymaking.
Keywords: Policy Modelling, Policy Evaluation, Policy Appraisal, Modelling Guidelines, Collaboration, Ethics
Introduction
1.1 Computationalmodels have been used to assist in developing, implementing and evaluating public policies for
at least three decades, but their potential remains to be fully exploited (Johnston & Desouza 2015; Anzola et al.
2017; Barbrook-Johnson et al. 2017). In this paper, using a selection of examples of ...
Quick facts on measure selection. Selecting the most effective packages of measures for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans.
Measure selection is the process of identifying the most suitable and cost effective mobility and transport measures to achieve the vision and objectives of a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and to overcome the identified local problems. Even where vision, objectives and problems are defined, it may not be obvious what measures are most appropriate.
Whither policy innovation? Mapping conceptual engagement with public policy i...Araz Taeihagh
Abstract
A transition to sustainable energy will require not only technological diffusion and behavioral change, but also policy innovation. While research on energy transitions has generated an extensive literature, the extent to which it has used the policy innovation perspective – entailing policy entrepreneurship or invention, policy diffusion, and policy success – remains unclear. This study analyzes over 8000 publications on energy transitions through a bibliometric review and computational text analysis to create an overview of the scholarship, map conceptual engagement with public policy, and identify the use of the policy innovation lens in the literature. We find that: (i) though the importance of public policy is frequently highlighted in the research, the public policy itself is analyzed only occasionally; (ii) studies focusing on public policy have primarily engaged with the concepts of policy mixes, policy change, and policy process; and (iii) the notions of policy entrepreneurship or invention, policy diffusion, and policy success are hardly employed to understand the sources, speed, spread, or successes of energy transitions. We conclude that the value of the policy innovation lens for energy transitions research remains untapped and propose avenues for scholars to harness this potential.
The Duty of Loyalty and Whistleblowing Please respond to the fol.docxcherry686017
"The Duty of Loyalty and Whistleblowing" Please respond to the following:
· Analyze the duty of loyalty in whistleblower cases to determine to whom loyalty is owed and who shows the greater duty of loyalty. Support your analysis with specific examples. Then, suggest at least one (1) change to an existing law.
· Reexamine the Citizens United decision in Chapter 1, and determine which of the following groups has the greatest free speech rights: corporations, public employees, or private employees. Provide a rationale for your determination.
11 Combining Research Methods: Case Studies and Action Research
Rebecca Jester
Introduction
In Chapters 7 and 8, we focused on the unique features of quantitative and qualitative research. In this chapter, we aim to demonstrate how research methods can be integrated and combined to address specific research questions. The chapter will provide an overview of two specific research designs: action research and case studies, together with examples from research projects conducted by the author. This chapter does not aim to provide an in-depth philosophical debate related to case study and action research approaches, but rather a practical discussion of the merits, limitations and application of these two approaches. We begin by discussing the concepts of ‘mixed methods’ and ‘triangulation', first introduced in Chapter 2.
Mixed methods approaches
Traditionally, within health and social research, individuals have aligned themselves with either the quantitative or qualitative paradigm. However, in reality, many real world research projects benefit from mixing or combining methods. Mixed methods research can be accomplished either by using specific approaches to research, such as action research or case study, as discussed within this chapter, or by adopting a phased approach within a study. This might involve the first stage being exploratory within the qualitative paradigm, and the results from this being used to form specific hypotheses for testing within an experimental design, such as a randomized controlled trial. Equally, a quantitative approach (say, a questionnaire) might be used to gather data from a wide range of people, with the results being used to develop a qualitative interview schedule for use with a small sample of respondents.
Triangulation
Very often a research study is undertaken with multiple datasets, mixed methodology or with different researchers, such as at different sites. Triangulation is a very useful technique that enables you to enhance and verify concepts. As Ramprogus (2005, p. 4) suggests, ‘triangulation … tries to reconcile the differences of two or more data sources, methodological approaches, designs, theoretical perspectives, investigators and data analysis to compensate for the weaknesses of any single strategy towards achieving completeness or confirmation of findings’. However, triangulation must be exercised with caution; it is no substitute for robust and well-established ...
Guide to Helping With Paper· Description of the key program .docxshericehewat
Guide to Helping With Paper
· Description of the key program elements:
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/11/30/prisoner-reentry-programs-ensuring-safe-and-successful-return-community
Drake, E. B., & Lafrance, S. (2007). Findings on Best Practices of Community Re-Entry Programs ... Retrieved from http://www.eisenhowerfoundation.org/docs/Ex-Offender Best Practices.pdf
Mosteller, J. (2019). Why Reentry Programs are Important. Retrieved from https://www.charleskochinstitute.org/issue-areas/criminal-justice-policing-reform/reentry-programs/
· A description of the strategies that the program uses to produce change
Caprizzo, C. (2011, November 30). Prisoner Reentry Programs: Ensuring a Safe and Successful Return to the Community. Retrieved fromhttps://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/11/30/prisoner-reentry-programs-ensuring-safe-and-successful-return-community
INTEGRATED REENTRYand EMPLOYMENT. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.bja.gov/Publications/CSG-Reentry-and-Employment.pdf
· A description of the needs of the target population
· An explanation of why a process evaluation is important for the program
See attachment to answer this question (Workbook for Designing a Process Evaluation) also look at this link below
Berghuis, M. (2018, October). Reentry Programs for Adult Male Offender Recidivism and Reintegration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6139987/
· A plan for building relationships with the staff and management
STRONG PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS - Leading Teams. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.leadingteams.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Whitepaper-Strong-Professional-Relationships-Drive-High-Performance.pdf
See attachment can help you in answering this question (Workbook for Designing a Process Evaluation)
· Broad questions to be answered by the process evaluation
Rossman, S., Willison, J., Lindquist, C., Walters, J., & Lattimore, P. (2016, December). The author(s) shown below used Federal funding provided by ... Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250469.pdf
See attachment can help you in answering this question (Workbook for Designing a Process Evaluation)
· Specific questions to be answered by the process evaluation
· A plan for gathering and analyzing the information
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/213675.pdf
Make Sure All Bullets Are Answered
:
· A description of the key program elements
· A description of the strategies that the program uses to produce change
· A description of the needs of the target population
· An explanation of why a process evaluation is important for the program
· A plan for building relationships with the staff and management
· Broad questions to be answered by the process evaluation
· Specific questions to be answered by the process evaluation
· A plan for gathering and analyzing the information
Workbook
for
Designing
a Process
Evaluation
Produced for the ...
Unmasking deepfakes: A systematic review of deepfake detection and generation...Araz Taeihagh
Due to the fast spread of data through digital media, individuals and societies must assess the reliability of information. Deepfakes are not a novel idea but they are now a widespread phenomenon. The impact of deepfakes and disinformation can range from infuriating individuals to affecting and misleading entire societies and even nations. There are several ways to detect and generate deepfakes online. By conducting a systematic literature analysis, in this study we explore automatic key detection and generation methods, frameworks, algorithms, and tools for identifying deepfakes (audio, images, and videos), and how these approaches can be employed within different situations to counter the spread of deepfakes and the generation of disinformation. Moreover, we explore state-of-the-art frameworks related to deepfakes to understand how emerging machine learning and deep learning approaches affect online disinformation. We also highlight practical challenges and trends in implementing policies to counter deepfakes. Finally, we provide policy recommendations based on analyzing how emerging artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be employed to detect and generate deepfakes online. This study benefits the community and readers by providing a better understanding of recent developments in deepfake detection and generation frameworks. The study also sheds a light on the potential of AI in relation to deepfakes.
A governance perspective on user acceptance of autonomous systems in SingaporeAraz Taeihagh
Autonomous systems that operate without human intervention by utilising artificial intelligence are a significant feature of the fourth industrial revolution. Various autonomous systems, such as driverless cars, unmanned drones and robots, are being tested in ongoing trials and have even been adopted in some countries. While there has been a discussion of the benefits and risks of specific autonomous systems, more needs to be known about user acceptance of these systems. The reactions of the public, especially regarding novel technologies, can help policymakers better understand people's perspectives and needs, and involve them in decision-making for governance and regulation of autonomous systems. This study has examined the factors that influence the acceptance of autonomous systems by the public in Singapore, which is a forerunner in the adoption of autonomous systems. The Unified Technology Adoption and Use Theory (UTAUT) is modified by introducing the role of government and perceived risk in using the systems. Using structural equation modelling to analyse data from an online survey (n = 500) in Singapore, we find that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and trust in government to govern autonomous systems significantly and positively impact the behavioural intention to use autonomous systems. Perceived risk has a negative relationship with user acceptance of autonomous systems. This study contributes to the literature by identifying latent variables that affect behavioural intention to use autonomous systems, especially by introducing the factor of trust in government to manage risks from the use of these systems and filling the gap by studying the entire domain of autonomous systems instead of a narrow focus on one application. The findings will enable policymakers to understand the perceptions of the public in regard to adoption and regulation, and designers and manufacturers to improve user experience.
The soft underbelly of complexity science adoption in policymakingAraz Taeihagh
The deepening integration of social-technical systems creates immensely complex environments, creating increasingly uncertain and unpredictable circumstances. Given this context, policymakers have been encouraged to draw on complexity science-informed approaches in policymaking to help grapple with and manage the mounting complexity of the world. For nearly eighty years, complexity-informed approaches have been promising to change how our complex systems are understood and managed, ultimately assisting in better policymaking. Despite the potential of complexity science, in practice, its use often remains limited to a few specialised domains and has not become part and parcel of the mainstream policy debate. To understand why this might be the case, we question why complexity science remains nascent and not integrated into the core of policymaking. Specifically, we ask what the non-technical challenges and barriers are preventing the adoption of complexity science into policymaking. To address this question, we conducted an extensive literature review. We collected the scattered fragments of text that discussed the non-technical challenges related to the use of complexity science in policymaking and stitched these fragments into a structured framework by synthesising our findings. Our framework consists of three thematic groupings of the non-technical challenges: (a) management, cost, and adoption challenges; (b) limited trust, communication, and acceptance; and (c) ethical barriers. For each broad challenge identified, we propose a mitigation strategy to facilitate the adoption of complexity science into policymaking. We conclude with a call for action to integrate complexity science into policymaking further.
Development of New Generation of Artificial Intelligence in ChinaAraz Taeihagh
How did China become one of the leaders in AI development, and will China prevail in the ongoing AI race with the US? Existing studies have focused on the Chinese central government’s role in promoting AI. Notwithstanding the importance of the central government, a significant portion of the responsibility for AI development falls on local governments’ shoulders. Local governments have diverging interests, capacities and, therefore, approaches to promoting AI. This poses an important question: How do local governments respond to the central government’s policies on emerging technologies, such as AI? This article answers this question by examining the convergence or divergence of central and local priorities related to AI development by analysing the central and local AI policy documents and the provincial variations by focusing on the diffusion of the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan (NGAIDP) in China. Using a unique dataset of China’s provincial AI-related policies that cite the NGAIDP, the nature of diffusion of the NGAIDP is examined by conducting content analysis and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). This study highlights the important role of local governments in China’s AI development and emphasises examining policy diffusion as a political process.
Governing disruptive technologies for inclusive development in citiesAraz Taeihagh
Abstract
Cities are increasingly adopting advanced technologies to address complex challenges. Applying technologies such as information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and autonomous systems in cities' design, planning, and management can cause disruptive changes in their social, economic, and environmental composition. Through a systematic literature review, this research develops a conceptual model linking (1) the dominant city labels relating to tech-driven urban development, (2) the characteristics and applications of disruptive technologies, and (3) the current understanding of inclusive urban development. We extend the discussion by identifying and incorporating the motivations behind adopting disruptive technologies and the challenges they present to inclusive development. We find that inclusive development in tech-driven cities can be realised if governments develop suitable adaptive regulatory frameworks for involving technology companies, build policy capacity, and adopt more adaptive models of governance. We also stress the importance of acknowledging the influence of digital literacy and smart citizenship, and exploring other dimensions of inclusivity, for governing disruptive technologies in inclusive smart cities.
Why and how is the power of big teach increasing?Araz Taeihagh
Abstract: The growing digitalization of our society has led to a meteoric rise of large technology companies (Big Tech), which have amassed tremendous wealth and influence through their ownership of digital infrastructure and platforms. The recent launch of ChatGPT and the rapid popularization of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) act as a focusing event to further accelerate the concentration of power in the hands of the Big Tech. By using Kingdon’s multiple streams framework, this article investigates how Big Tech utilize their technological monopoly and political influence to reshape the policy landscape and establish themselves as key actors in the policy process. It explores the implications of the rise of Big Tech for policy theory in two ways. First, it develops the Big Tech-centric technology stream, highlighting the differing motivations and activities from the traditional innovation-centric technology stream. Second, it underscores the universality of Big Tech exerting ubiquitous influence within and across streams, to primarily serve their self-interests rather than promote innovation. Our findings emphasize the need for a more critical exploration of policy role of Big Tech to ensure balanced and effective policy outcomes in the age of AI.
Keywords: generative AI, governance, artificial intelligence, big tech, multiple streams framework
Sustainable energy adoption in poor rural areasAraz Taeihagh
Abstract
A growing body of literature recognises the role of local participation by end users in the successful implementation of sustainable development projects. Such community-based initiatives are widely assumed to be beneficial in providing additional savings, increasing knowledge and skills, and improving social cohesion. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the success (or failure) of such projects, as well as a lack of formal impact assessment methodologies that can be used to assess their effectiveness in meeting the needs of communities. Using a case study approach, we investigate the effectiveness of community-based energy projects in regard to achieving long-term renewable energy technology (RET) adoption in energy-poor island communities in the Philippines. This paper provides an alternative analytical framework for assessing the impact of community-based energy projects by defining RET adoption as a continuous and relational process that co-evolves and co-produces over time, highlighting the role of social capital in the long-term RET adoption process. In addition, by using the Social Impact Assessment methodology, we study off-grid, disaster-vulnerable and energy-poor communities in the Philippines and we assess community renewable energy (RE) projects implemented in those communities. We analyse the nature of participation in the RET adoption process, the social relations and interactions formed between and among the different stakeholders, and the characteristics, patterns and challenges of the adoption process.
Highlights
• Community-based approaches aid state-led renewable energy in off-grid areas.
• Social capital in communities addresses immediate energy needs in affected areas.
• Change Mapping in Social Impact Assessment shows community-based RE project impacts.
• Long-term renewable energy adoption involves co-evolving hardware, software, orgware.
• Successful adoption relies on communal mechanisms to sustain renewable energy systems.
Smart cities as spatial manifestations of 21st century capitalismAraz Taeihagh
Globally, smart cities attract billions of dollars in investment annually, with related market opportunities forecast to grow year-on-year. The enormous resources poured into their development consist of financial capital, but also natural, human and social resources converted into infrastructure and real estate. The latter act as physical capital storage and sites for the creation of digital products and services expected to generate the highest value added. Smart cities serve as temporary spatial fixes until new and better investments opportunities emerge. Drawing from a comprehensive range of publications on capitalism, this article analyzes smart city developments as typifier of 21st century capital accumulation where the financialization of various capitals is the overarching driver and ecological overshoot and socio-economic undershoot are the main negative consequences. It closely examines six spatial manifestations of the smart city – science parks and smart campuses; innovation districts; smart neighborhoods; city-wide and city-regional smart initiatives; urban platforms; and alternative smart city spaces – as receptacles for the conversion of various capitals. It also considers the influence of different national regimes and institutional contexts on smart city developments. This is used, in the final part, to open a discussion about opportunities to temper the excesses of 21st century capitalism.
Highlights
• Recent academic literature on modern capitalism and smart city development are brought together
• Different interpretations and denominations of 21th century capitalism are mapped and synthesized into an overview box
• Six spatial manifestations of the smart city are identified and thoroughly described, with their major institutions, actors and resources
• Five different types of capital (natural, human, social, physical and financial) are mapped, along with an analysis of how further financialization affects conversion processes between them
• Options to mitigate exclusionary tendencies of capitalism in the digital age are explored, based on the varieties of capitalism literature
Digital Ethics for Biometric Applications in a Smart CityAraz Taeihagh
From border control using fingerprints to law enforcement with video surveillance to self-activating devices via voice identification, biometric data is used in many applications in the contemporary context of a Smart City. Biometric data consists of human characteristics that can identify one person from others. Given the advent of big data and the ability to collect large amounts of data about people, data sources ranging from fingerprints to typing patterns can build an identifying profile of a person. In this article, we examine different types of biometric data used in a smart city based on a framework that differentiates between profile initialization and identification processes. Then, we discuss digital ethics within the usage of biometric data along the lines of data permissibility and renewability. Finally, we provide suggestions for improving biometric data collection and processing in the modern smart city.
A realist synthesis to develop an explanatory model of how policy instruments...Araz Taeihagh
Abstract
Background
Child and maternal health, a key marker of overall health system performance, is a policy priority area by the World Health Organization and the United Nations, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Previous realist work has linked child and maternal health outcomes to globalization, political tradition, and the welfare state. It is important to explore the role of other key policy-related factors. This paper presents a realist synthesis, categorising policy instruments according to the established NATO model, to develop an explanatory model of how policy instruments impact child and maternal health outcomes.
Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies assessing the relationships between policy instruments and child and maternal health outcomes. Data were analysed using a realist framework. The first stage of the realist analysis process was to generate micro-theoretical initial programme theories for use in the theory adjudication process. Proposed theories were then adjudicated iteratively to produce a set of final programme theories.
Findings
From a total of 43,415 unique records, 632 records proceeded to full-text screening and 138 papers were included in the review. Evidence from 132 studies was available to address this research question. Studies were published from 1995 to 2021; 76% assessed a single country, and 81% analysed data at the ecological level. Eighty-eight initial candidate programme theories were generated. Following theory adjudication, five final programme theories were supported. According to the NATO model, these were related to treasure, organisation, authority-treasure, and treasure-organisation instrument types.
Conclusions
This paper presents a realist synthesis to develop an explanatory model of how policy instruments impact child and maternal health outcomes from a large, systematically identified international body of evidence. Five final programme theories were supported, showing how policy instruments play an important yet context-dependent role in influencing child and maternal health outcomes.
Addressing Policy Challenges of Disruptive TechnologiesAraz Taeihagh
This special issue examines the policy challenges and government responses to disruptive technologies. It explores the risks, benefits, and trade-offs of deploying disruptive technologies, and examines the efficacy of traditional governance approaches and the need for new regulatory and governance frameworks. Key themes include the need for government stewardship, taking adaptive and proactive approaches, developing comprehensive policies accounting for technical, social, economic, and political dimensions, conducting interdisciplinary research, and addressing data management and privacy challenges. The findings enhance understanding of how governments can navigate the complexities of disruptive technologies and develop policies to maximize benefits and mitigate risks.
Navigating the governance challenges of disruptive technologies insights from...Araz Taeihagh
The proliferation of autonomous systems like unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous vehicles and AI-powered industrial and social robots can benefit society significantly, but these systems also present significant governance challenges in operational, legal, economic, social, and ethical dimensions. Singapore’s role as a front-runner in the trial of autonomous systems presents an insightful case to study whether the current provisional regulations address the challenges. With multiple stakeholder involvement in setting provisional regulations, government stewardship is essential for coordinating robust regulation and helping to address complex issues such as ethical dilemmas and social connectedness in governing autonomous systems.
A scoping review of the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on v...Araz Taeihagh
Most governments have enacted physical or social distancing measures to control COVID-19 transmission. Yet little is known about the socio-economic trade-offs of these measures, especially for vulnerable populations, who are exposed to increased risks and are susceptible to adverse health outcomes. To examine the impacts of physical distancing measures on the most vulnerable in society, this scoping review screened 39,816 records and synthesised results from 265 studies worldwide documenting the negative impacts of physical distancing on older people, children/students, low-income populations, migrant workers, people in prison, people with disabilities, sex workers, victims of domestic violence, refugees, ethnic minorities, and people from sexual and gender minorities. We show that prolonged loneliness, mental distress, unemployment, income loss, food insecurity, widened inequality and disruption of access to social support and health services were unintended consequences of physical distancing that impacted these vulnerable groups and highlight that physical distancing measures exacerbated the vulnerabilities of different vulnerable populations.
Data Sharing in Disruptive Technologies Lessons from Adoption of Autonomous S...Araz Taeihagh
Autonomous systems have been a key segment of disruptive technologies for which data are constantly collected, processed, and shared to enable their operations. The internet of things facilitates the storage and transmission of data and data sharing is vital to power their development. However, privacy, cybersecurity, and trust issues have ramifications that form distinct and unforeseen barriers to sharing data. This paper identifies six types of barriers to data sharing (technical, motivational, economic, political, legal, and ethical), examines strategies to overcome these barriers in different autonomous systems, and proposes recommendations to address them. We traced the steps the Singapore government has taken through regulations and frameworks for autonomous systems to overcome barriers to data sharing. The results suggest specific strategies for autonomous systems as well as generic strategies that apply to a broader set of disruptive technologies. To address technical barriers, data sharing within regulatory sandboxes should be promoted. Promoting public-private collaborations will help in overcoming motivational barriers. Resources and analytical capacity must be ramped up to overcome economic barriers. Advancing comprehensive data sharing guidelines and discretionary privacy laws will help overcome political and legal barriers. Further, enforcement of ethical analysis is necessary for overcoming ethical barriers in data sharing. Insights gained from this study will have implications for other jurisdictions keen to maximize data sharing to increase the potential of disruptive technologies such as autonomous systems in solving urban problems.
Call for papers - ICPP6 T13P05 - PLATFORM GOVERNANCE IN TURBULENT TIMES.docxAraz Taeihagh
CALL FOR PAPERS
T13P05 - PLATFORM GOVERNANCE IN TURBULENT TIMES
https://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/conference/icpp6-toronto-2023/panel-list/17/panel/platform-governance-in-turbulent-times/1428
Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2023
GENERAL OBJECTIVES, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND SCIENTIFIC RELEVANCE
Platforms significantly increase the ease of interactions and transactions in our societies. Crowdsourcing and sharing economy platforms, for instance, enable interactions between various groups ranging from casual exchanges among friends and colleagues to the provision of goods, services, and employment opportunities (Taeihagh 2017a). Platforms can also facilitate civic engagements and allow public agencies to derive insights from a critical mass of citizens (Prpić et al. 2015; Taeihagh 2017b). More recently, governments have experimented with blockchain-enabled platforms in areas such as e-voting, digital identity and storing public records (Kshetri and Voas, 2018; Taş & Tanrıöver, 2020; Sullivan and Burger, 2019; Das et al., 2022).
How platforms are implemented and managed can introduce various risks. Platforms can diminish accountability, reduce individual job security, widen the digital divide and inequality, undermine privacy, and be manipulated (Taeihagh 2017a; Loukis et al. 2017; Hautamäki & Oksanen 2018; Ng and Taeihagh 2021). Data collected by platforms, how platforms conduct themselves, and the level of oversight they provide on the activities conducted within them by users, service providers, producers, employers, and advertisers have significant consequences ranging from privacy and ethical concerns to affecting outcomes of elections. Fake news on social media platforms has become a contentious public issue as social media platforms offer third parties various digital tools and strategies that allow them to spread disinformation to achieve self-serving economic and political interests and distort and polarise public opinion (Ng and Taeihagh 2021). The risks and threats of AI-curated and generated content, such as a Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT-3) (Brown et al., 2020) and generative adversarial networks (GANs) are also on the rise (Goodfellow et al., 2014) while there are new emerging risks due to the adoption of blockchain technology such as security vulnerabilities, privacy concerns (Trump et al. 2018; Mattila & Seppälä 2018; Das et al. 2022).
The adoption of platforms was further accelerated by COVID-19, highlighting their governance challenges.
Call for papers - ICPP6 T13P03 - GOVERNANCE AND POLICY DESIGN LESSONS FOR TRU...Araz Taeihagh
CALL FOR PAPERS
T13P03 - GOVERNANCE AND POLICY DESIGN LESSONS FOR TRUST BUILDING AND RESPONSIBLE USE OF AI, AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS AND ROBOTICS
https://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/conference/icpp6-toronto-2023/panel-list/17/panel/governance-and-policy-design-lessons-for-trust-building-and-responsible-use-of-ai-autonomous-systems-and-robotics/1390
Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2023
GENERAL OBJECTIVES, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND SCIENTIFIC RELEVANCE
Artificial intelligence (AI), Autonomous Systems (AS) and Robotics are key features of the fourth industrial revolution, and their applications are supposed to add $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and improve the efficiency and quality of public service delivery (Miller & Sterling, 2019). A McKinsey global survey found that over half of the organisations surveyed use AI in at least one function (McKinsey, 2020). The societal benefits of AI, AS, and Robotics have been widely acknowledged (Buchanan 2005; Taeihagh & Lim 2019; Ramchurn et al. 2012), and the acceleration of their deployment is a disruptive change impacting jobs, the economic and military power of countries, and wealth concentration in the hands of corporations (Pettigrew et al., 2018; Perry & Uuk, 2019).
However, the rapid adoption of these technologies threatens to outpace the regulatory responses of governments around the world, which must grapple with the increasing magnitude and speed of these transformations (Taeihagh 2021). Furthermore, concerns about these systems' deployment risks and unintended consequences are significant for citizens and policymakers. Potential risks include malfunctioning, malicious attacks, and objective mismatch due to software or hardware failures (Page et al., 2018; Lim and Taeihagh, 2019; Tan et al., 2022). There are also safety, liability, privacy, cybersecurity, and industry risks that are difficult to address (Taeihagh & Lim, 2019) and The opacity in AI operations has also manifested in potential bias against certain groups of individuals that lead to unfair outcomes (Lim and Taeihagh 2019; Chesterman, 2021).
These risks require appropriate governance mechanisms to be mitigated, and traditional policy instruments may be ineffective due to insufficient information on industry developments, technological and regulatory uncertainties, coordination challenges between multiple regulatory bodies and the opacity of the underlying technology (Scherer 2016; Guihot et al. 2017; Taeihagh et al. 2021), which necessitate the use of more nuanced approaches to govern these systems. Subsequently, the demand for the governance of these systems has been increasing (Danks & London, 2017; Taeihagh, 2021).
Call for papers - ICPP6 T07P01 - EXPLORING TECHNOLOGIES FOR POLICY ADVICE.docxAraz Taeihagh
CALL FOR PAPERS
T07P01 - EXPLORING TECHNOLOGIES FOR POLICY ADVICE
https://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/conference/icpp6-toronto-2023/panel-list/17/panel/exploring-technologies-for-policy-advice/1295
Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2023
GENERAL OBJECTIVES, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND SCIENTIFIC RELEVANCE
Knowledge and expertise are key components of policy-making and policy design, and many institutions and processes exist – universities, professional policy analysts, think tanks, policy labs, etc. – to generate and mobilize knowledge for effective policies and policy-making. Despite many years of research, however. many critical ssues remain unexplored, including the nature of knowledge and non-knowledge, how policy advice is organized into advisory systems or regimes, and when and how specific types of knowledge or evidence are transmitted and influence policy development and implementation. These long-standing issues have been joined recently by use of Artificial Intelligence and Big data, and other kinds of technological developments – such as crowdsourcing through open collaboration platforms, virtual labour markets, and tournaments – which hold out the promise of automating, enhancing. or expanding policy advisory activities in government. This panel seeks to explore all aspects of the application of current and future technologies to policy advice, including case studies of its deployment as well as theoretical and conceptual studies dealing with moral, epistemological and other issues surrounding its use.
What factors drive policy transfer in smart city developmentAraz Taeihagh
Abstract
Smart city initiatives are viewed as an input to existing urban systems to solve various problems faced by modern cities. Making cities smarter implies not only technological innovation and deployment, but also having smart people and effective policies. Cities can acquire knowledge and incorporate governance lessons from other jurisdictions to develop smart city initiatives that are unique to the local contexts. We conducted two rounds of surveys involving 23 experts on an e-Delphi platform to consolidate their opinion on factors that facilitate policy transfer among smart cities. Findings show a consensus on the importance of six factors: having a policy entrepreneur; financial instruments; cities’ enthusiasm for policy learning; capacity building; explicit regulatory mechanisms; and policy adaptation to local contexts. Correspondingly, three policy recommendations were drawn. Formalizing collaborative mechanisms and joint partnerships between cities, setting up regional or international networks of smart cities, and establishing smart city repositories to collect useful case studies for urban planning and governance lessons will accelerate policy transfer for smart city development. This study sheds light on effective ways policymakers can foster policy learning and transfer, especially when a jurisdiction's capacity is insufficient to deal with the uncertainties and challenges ahead.
Perspective on research–policy interface as a partnership: The study of best ...Araz Taeihagh
This article serves as a blueprint and proof-of-concept of Singapore’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programmes in establishing effective collaborations with governmental partners. CREATE is a research consortium between Singapore’s public universities and international research institutions. The effective partnership of CREATE partners with government stakeholders is part of its mission to help government agencies solve complex issues in areas that reflect Singapore’s national interest. Projects are developed in consultation with stakeholders, and challenges are addressed on a scale that enables significant impact and provides solutions for Singapore and internationally. The article discusses the lessons learnt, highlighting that while research–policy partnerships are widespread, they are seldom documented. Moreover, effective communication proved to be a foundation for an effective partnership where policy and research partners were more likely to provide formal and informal feedback. Engaging policy partners early in the research co-development process was beneficial in establishing effective partnerships.
The rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the intensification in the adoption of AI in domains such as autonomous vehicles, lethal weapon systems, robotics and alike pose serious challenges to governments as they must manage the scale and speed of socio-technical transitions occurring. While there is considerable literature emerging on various aspects of AI, governance of AI is a significantly underdeveloped area. The new applications of AI offer opportunities for increasing economic efficiency and quality of life, but they also generate unexpected and unintended consequences and pose new forms of risks that need to be addressed. To enhance the benefits from AI while minimising the adverse risks, governments worldwide need to understand better the scope and depth of the risks posed and develop regulatory and governance processes and structures to address these challenges. This introductory article unpacks AI and describes why the Governance of AI should be gaining far more attention given the myriad of challenges it presents. It then summarises the special issue articles and highlights their key contributions. This special issue introduces the multifaceted challenges of governance of AI, including emerging governance approaches to AI, policy capacity building, exploring legal and regulatory challenges of AI and Robotics, and outstanding issues and gaps that need attention. The special issue showcases the state-of-the-art in the governance of AI, aiming to enable researchers and practitioners to appreciate the challenges and complexities of AI governance and highlight future avenues for exploration.
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Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
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What is the point of small housing associations.pptxPaul Smith
Given the small scale of housing associations and their relative high cost per home what is the point of them and how do we justify their continued existance
Presentation by Jared Jageler, David Adler, Noelia Duchovny, and Evan Herrnstadt, analysts in CBO’s Microeconomic Studies and Health Analysis Divisions, at the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists Summer Conference.
Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active Transportation
1. Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages
for Active Transportation
By
Araz Taeihagh and René Bañares-Alcántara
Full reference:
Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based
Generation of Policy Packages for Active Transportation, 47th
International Conference on
System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
Link to published article:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6758714
2. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages
for Active Transportation
Araz Taeihagh
City Futures Research Centre
University of New South Wales
a.taeihagh@unsw.edu.au
René Bañares-Alcántara
Department of Engineering Science
University of Oxford
rene.banares@eng.ox.ac.uk
Abstract
One of the approaches gaining ground in policy
design is the implementation of combinations of policy
measures as policy packages with the aim of
increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the designed
policies. In this paper, we describe the recent
advancements in the developments of a virtual
environment for the exploration and analysis of policy
packages. The virtual environment uses an agent-based
modelling approach for the generation of different
configurations of policy measures in the policy
packages. The benefit of using the approach is the
proactive and flexible generation of policy packages as
the agents can react to the changes that occur and
create packages that are more robust. The system
allows faster examination of more alternatives, further
exploration of the design space, and testing the effects
of changes and uncertainties while formulating
policies. The results demonstrate the benefit of using
agent-based modelling approaches in the design of
complex policies.
1. Introduction
It is generally recognised that effective policies
consist of a combination of reinforcing policy
measures rather than a single policy tool [1]. And so,
to design a policy, a policy maker has to decide which
set of policy measures should be selected taking into
account that policies are temporally, geographically
and culturally specific.
The solution to this problem is open-ended, as
alternative policies are not equivalent in their
implementation costs, effectiveness and public
acceptance. In fact, these important characteristics are
a function of the interactions between policy measures
and their intrinsic properties. The problem is further
complicated by the fact that the solution space is very
large, as there may be a large number of policy
measures available for each policy goal (often above
100), resulting in an enormous number of possible
combinations. The formulation of policies is currently
a manual and labour intensive task. This paper
introduces a systematic, proactive and flexible
approach to the generation of policy packages and
describes an agent-based implementation that
embodies the approach. The method has the potential
to accelerate the policy formulation process and
improve the effectiveness of the resulting policies. The
contributions of the work presented for formulation of
policies are: (a) consideration of a larger portion of the
design space because of automation of parts of the
overall tasks instead of the traditional manual
approaches in policy making; (b) increased choice of
alternative packages with varying pros and cons (c)
increased likelihood of reaching a better solution
through generation of more alternatives and use of
representation and evaluation approaches; and (d)
development of the equivalent of an "experimental lab"
for policy makers to test and explore alternative policy
packages and test the effects of changes and
uncertainties while formulating policies.
The background information is discussed in Section
2. Section 3 describes the architecture, objectives and
conceptual framework used in the modelling approach
and Section 4 illustrates its implementation. The results
achieved are presented in Section 5 and conclusions
and future work are described in Section 6.
2. Background
2.1 Policy Packaging
In this paper we adopt Pohl’s [2] definition of
policy as “a principle or guideline for action in a
specific context” and the task in which the components
of a policy are selected and the overall policy is
formulated is defined as policy design. In the process
of policy design the challenge faced by policy makers
is no longer a lack of understanding about possible
solutions nor a lack of options to implement, instead,
given the complexity of the problems faced, the
challenge is how to analyze and explore a large number
of complex options, and arrive at the best solutions
3. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
given time, geographical, budgetary and a myriad of
other constraints [3].
Research has shown that capturing and processing
large amounts of information is difficult for the human
mind and excessive amounts of information can cause
inertia and result in consideration of very few options
[4, 5]. We believe that using a systematic approach and
having access to decision aid tools can facilitate the
identification of more suitable options and aid in
addressing some of these problems. Furthermore, it is
recognized that silver bullets do not exist in policy
making and to ensure successful and efficient
attainment of the given policy objectives, a
combination of policies needs to be implemented [6,
7]. Givoni et al. [8] use the term ‘policy package’ for
this combination of policy measures and define policy
packages as “a combination of individual policy
measures, aimed at addressing one or more policy
goals; a package is created in order to improve the
impacts of the individual policy measures, minimize
possible negative side effects, and/or facilitate the
interventions’ implementation and acceptability”.
Therefore, policy packaging reinforces the need for the
consideration of the combination of a large number of
options (eg. understanding the potential effectiveness
and efficiency of each policy measure, and in
combination with other policy measures within a
policy package) which further exacerbates the
problems faced in policy making.
Previously we have developed a six-step
framework [9] that allows a systematic approach to the
synthesis and configuration of policies. Based on the
six-step framework the Policy Measure Analysis and
Ranking Methodology [3] was developed to enable
quantitative comparison of the policy measures and to
assist in their analysis and selection for implementation
by relying on the application of network theory and
multiple criteria decision analysis approaches. The aim
of our approach has been to simplify the analysis
through visualization and ranking methodologies while
allowing the policy-makers to systematically consider
a large number of policy measures in dealing with a
specific policy problem while taking into account
additional information (e.g. relations between measures
and implementation challenges), going beyond the
traditionally considered information.
The framework and methodologies developed for
the analysis and ranking of policy measures for the
formulation of policy packages were applied to two
case studies with domain experts exploring a much
larger portion of the decision space than normally
considered. The case studies aimed to reduce emissions
from the UK transport sector (123 policy measures –
see [10]) and to promote active transportation in cities
(38 policy measures – see [3, 21])1
.
2.2 Policy Measure Relations
An innovative aspect of the research was the
definition and classification of five types of relations
between policy measures (precondition, facilitation,
synergy, potential contradiction and contradiction – see
[3]). Once a library of policy measures has been
developed, the next step is to identify these relations
among policy measures with the goal of using them for
assessment and/or the selection of policy measures.
The classification of the policy measure relations is
carried out by the domain experts. For a network of n
nodes, the relations are stored in an n by n adjacency
matrix where each element of the matrix represents a
relation between the corresponding row and column
nodes2
. In our experience using a collective decision
making procedure for identifying the relations is
advantageous and is likely to increase the robustness of
the analysis. This is due to the fact that often complex
relations exist between the policy measures and clearly
distinguishing the relation type at times can be
difficult. An iterative approach was used in order to
identify inconsistencies and errors where at least one
iteration was performed for the identification of each
type of relation [3]3
. Visualization of the policy
measure relations serve as a final check on the integrity
and validity of the identified relations and also help in
better grasping the complex relations between policy
measures and extracting information that might have
been disregarded.
3. Methodology
3.1. Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) for Policy
Packaging
Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) is a computational
methodology that enables a researcher to create, analyze
and experiment with models that are composed of agents
that interact within an environment [11]. In ABM
complex actions of the agents and their reactions to
1
Active transportation is the transport of people and/or goods using
human muscle power, mainly referring to cycling and walking.
2
An edge exists between two nodes a and b if element (a,b) of the
matrix is equal to 1, and there is no edge between a and b if element
(a,b) is equal to 0.
3
In this study, the policy measure relations are not weighted. It is
possible to differentiate between the quality of the relation between
policy measures using a weighted network. However, the extent to
which a relationship can be quantified is questionable. Nevertheless,
if experts are confident in the assessments of policy measure
relations or there are models that could provide estimations, such
information can be considered in the analysis.
4. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
other agents and the environment enables the
observation of the outcomes and system effects of a set
given set of parameters [12]. Observation of the system
effects and their anticipation prior to the implementation
of policies has the potential of increasing the chance of
successful decision making. Furthermore, ABM systems
are scalable and modular [13] and are well-suited for
exploring dynamics and complex structures and their
characteristics [14] which are all desirable features and
relevant for the formulation of policies in complex
socio-technical systems.
Virtual environments have been used for the
analysis and improved understanding of complex
systems in different domains such as energy [15],
health [16], food [17], transport [18] or markets [19].
For instance, in case of markets, developing such
virtual laboratories enables testing of different
regulatory and market structures, e.g. the Electricity
Markets Complex Adaptive Systems (EMCAS) model,
developed by Argonne National Laboratory [19].
Aside from features that are traditionally considered as
positive features of ABM systems (see [12] and [20]),
the ABM approach provides the flexibility to deal with
different types of data which is useful when a large
amount of qualitative data is present and quantification
is not possible or is questionable.
We have previously used the framework and
methodologies in the development of an ABM decision
support system to act as a virtual environment for the
exploration and analysis of different combinations of
policy measures to build and assess policy packages.
The agent-based approach utilized information about
policy measure interactions along with internal
properties of the policy measures, and user preferences
for the analysis and formulation of policies.
Furthermore, the ABM system facilitates carrying out
tests to observe the effects of changes and uncertainties
to policy packages. Similar to the framework and
methodologies developed, the decision support system
is generic in nature and has been designed with
reusability and flexibility considerations in mind for
different targets, sectors and geographical scopes.
We are interested in further exploring and tackling
the technical complexities of policy formulation by
using a computational framework. The focus of this
paper is on the enhancement of the system and
addressing some of the limitations we had previously
identified. Previously we had only considered a single
type of a goal (e.g. transport emission reduction) but
now we are considering multiple goals and the trade-offs
between them. Moreover, we were assuming that the
data provided to the system was based on consensus
(which was the case in the case studies conducted
before) but now are considering different stakeholders
and possibility of reaching consensus among them in
selection of policy packages from a computational
perspective, i.e. how minimal change of weights might
allow reaching higher level of consensus.4
. These
enhancements are particularly interesting in policy
packaging due to the qualitative/fuzzy nature of
problems and consequently the criteria and weights used
in assessment. We believe these enhancements will
further allow us to better understand and analyze data,
and thus increase the level of ‘knowledge utilization’ in
the policy process [22].
3.2 Conceptual Framework
The two main types of agents that operate in the
system are the Policy Packer agents and the Assessor
agents. Policy Packer agents undertake the selection of
policy measures and create the policy packages.
Assessor agents evaluate the created policy packages
based on their assessment criteria, rank the policy
packages, select their preferred package(s), examine
other Assessors choices, and explore if they can reach
a consensus through negotiation, and provide real-time
feedback to other agents and users (through a graphical
user interface (GUI)) to help them in their decision
making process. Figure 1 illustrates a conceptual
ABM framework for the formulation of policies.
3.3 System Architecture and
Implementation Environment
The Java programming language [23] has been chosen
for the development because of its characteristics of
platform independence, automatic memory management
and access to an extensive library of freely available
code and software (which are used for data retrieval,
visualizations, and analysis). Analyses performed on the
network of relations among policy measures are
outputted to Excel files, which are, in turn, imported by
the agent-based toolkit. The agent-based toolkit used for
the analysis is Repast Simphony (Recursive Porous
Agent Simulation Toolkit [24]). Mathematica is used
for computation [25] and to access the discrete
mathematics package Combinatorica [26]. The
information acquired through user input and
Mathematica analysis is channeled back towards Repast
Simphony.Figure 2 is a screenshot of the implemented
ABM system generating and assessing alternative
packages based on the described system architecture.
4
We acknowledge the use of agent architectures such as BDI
and PECS [27-29] in exploring or simulating human behavior for
decision-making. They are relevant from a social science perspective
but they are not the focus of this research.
5. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
4. Application of the ABM Policy
Packaging System
To illustrate the benefits provided by the ABM
system for policy packaging this section briefly
describes the implementation of our approach on a case
study for promotion of active transportation. The system
uses real data and is based on extensive collaboration
with domain experts. Section 4.1 gives an overview of
the case study and Section 4.2 highlights the input data
used from the case study and the initialization process.
Section 4.3 details the policy measure selection process
for the creation of policy packages. Section 4.4
illustrates the policy package assessment and selection
procedures and Section 4.5 details visualizations of the
Policy Measures Policy Packers
Network generation
Package Generation
algorithm
Assessors
Model initialiser
Package selection
algorithm
Policy Packages
Assessor Negotiation
Algorithm
Figure 1 Conceptual framework of the ABM system
Figure 2 Screenshot of the system generating a large number of policy packages [21].
6. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
graphical user interface. Subsequently Sections 5.1 to
5.3 further illustrate various functions of the system
4.1 Implementation of the system in active
transportation policy
Transport policy is often complex in nature as it
entails addressing behavioral and technical aspects
which are related. In order to have sustainable
transportation, it is important to improve the balance
between benefits and the costs of society’s mobility
needs [30] and a major objective is to increase the level
of active transportation (see [31] and [32]). The
increase in level of active transportation can be
substantial; however, in a majority of countries the
level of active transportation has been declining (e.g.
DfT [33]). The “Visions of the role of walking and
cycling in 2030” research project [34] seeks to develop
and evaluate alternatives to change the situation in the
UK where active transportation represent 26% of trips
in urban areas in 2010 and aims to be increased to 70%
by 2030. Following the recent consensus on policy
packaging, the Visions project understood that a
combination of policy measures into policy packages is
needed to support the shift from motorized to non-
motorized transportation [34].
4.2 Input Data and Initialization Process
Thirty-eight policy measures that promote active
transportation constitute the core of the library of
policy measures used in this study (see [21] for the list
of policy measures). The repository was created from
the Visions 2030 project [34] through participation of
domain experts and the use of scientific literature.
Propertiesconsideredforthepolicy measures are Cost,
Effectiveness, Timescale of Implementation, Delay,
Timescale of Effect, Technical Complexity, Public
Unacceptability and Institutional Complexity. Five
types of interactions between the policy measures were
identified (see Section 2.2) and were stored and later
retrieved during the initialization phase of the system
to form network structures.
The Repast Simphony’s runtime agent editor
provides a range of basic facilities that includes [24]:
(a) Creation, cloning and deletion of different
types of agents during runtime.
(b) Provision of the lists and visualization of
agents, their connections and properties.
(c) Creation, Selection and Deletion of the agents
and change of their properties and/or links in
different networks during runtime.
(d) Provision of the ability to take snapshots or
videos of the simulation run.
When the simulation run starts, the following
initialization tasks are performed to create the virtual
environment for policy packaging in the ABM system:
Generation of the different agents and data layers
(policy packers, assessors, policy measures, etc.),
and retrieval and assignment of their properties5
.
Generation and setup of the custom graphical user
interface.
Acquisition of global parameters and run specific
data parameters for the system using data files
and through the GUI.
Generation of the various networks that represent
the complex interaction among policy measures
and/or agents in the system and definition of the
structural relation between different agents and
networks in the system6
.
4.3 Selection of Policy Measures
Policy Packer agents undertake the task of
generating policy packages by selecting policy measures
using global parameters and/or user inputs. Due to space
limitations we only highlight the high-level details of the
overall decision process of the Policy Packer agents in
each simulation run rather than providing the detailed
algorithm for each iteration. Each Policy Packer agent
starts with a top policy measure, which is either assigned
randomly or selected on the basis of its performance
calculated through a policy measure ranking
methodology [3] based on criteria set by the user.
Initially each Policy Packer agent analyzes the
selected policy measure to see if it has any
precondition requirements. In case such preconditions
exist, those policy measures are added to the package
to ensure successful implementation. In the next step,
the Policy Packer agent identifies the policy measure
that has the highest level of positive interactions
(synergy, facilitation, or other user set criteria) with the
policy measures in the package. Similar to the previous
step, before adding the selected measure to the package
the preconditions of the policy measure under
consideration are checked. In the case when
precondition relations exist, the Policy Packer agent
decides whether the new policy measure and its
preconditions should be added to the package or not
given the package size, cost, time, contradictions with
measures already in the package or other constraints,.
The process (with a variety of options available to the
user) can continue in successive iterations to expand
the size of the packages, allowing the user to
5
Retrieval of the policy measure properties and interaction data was
carried out using the JExcel Java library [35].
6
Network projections, are created using the Jung Network/Graph
Library [36].
7. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
experiment with different configurations and observe
the effects on the performance of the packages.
Each policy packer agent performs an internal
assessment and updates the properties of the policy
package it has generated at the end of each iteration
step based on the policy measures it contains and the
analysis step it is performing. Throughout the Policy
Packer agent’s decision process certain tasks are
performed when a specific condition is reached. For
instance, initially all of the Policy Packer agents
conduct precondition checks. Once all of the agents
have carried out their precondition analyses then a
change of state must be triggered to allow them to
conduct other aspects of analysis (e.g. addition of
additional policy measures to the package or checking
for constraints such as time, cost or contradictions).
Moreover, this information is used by the Assessor
agents for the comparison and selection of policy
packages and is provided to the user through the GUI.
The ABM system allows the utilization of user
inputs during runtime through the Repast ABM toolkit
GUI and the custom user panel for addition of new
agents, confirmation of their decisions in the user
interaction mode (see more in Section 4.5), analysis of
the package’s content or change of different properties
associated with packages or policy measures.
4.4 Assessment and Selection of Policy
Packages
Assessor agents allow the consideration of multiple
and concurrent stakeholders involved in the policy
formulation process that might have single or multiple
competing goals. Furthermore, by considering
different stakeholders, the possibility of reaching
consensus among them in the selection of policy
packages can be explored from a computational
perspective. Moreover, the stakeholders’ priorities can
be highlighted on the ranking and development of
policies and trade-offs between different goals.
Each Assessor agent evaluates the alternative
policy packages based on its own criteria. This helps
with identifying more promising packages given a
specific set of criteria that each Assessor agent uses.
For instance, one Assessor agent might assess the
policy packages based on set of criteria that relate to
package performance (e.g. time required for
implementation, duration of effect), difficulty of
implementation (e.g. public unacceptability,
institutional complexity), or stability (e.g. level of risk
and uncertainty involved).
The Assessor agents’ ranking is based on the
weighted summation of the scores of the policy
measures. All of the criteria in each set associated with
an Assessor agent are assigned positive weights fixed
to a sum of 1.0. Criteria within each set fall into one of
two categories: desirable or undesirable. A criterion is
desirable when a high
score is considered
better, and is
undesirable when a
lower score is
considered better (e.g.
Cost, Institutional
Complexity). When a
mix of desirable and
undesirable criteria are
present, all the scores
are transformed to
desirable by using the
reciprocal of the
values associated with
undesirable criteria
[37]. The resulting
scores are normalized,
multiplied by their
corresponding weight
and summed up to
calculate the overall
score.
Figure 3 illustrates
the Assessor Agent’s
simplified iteration
step algorithm. In each
iteration step the
Assessor agents find
all of the available
policy packages and
retrieve their
information. Based on
their goals and criteria
they rank all of the
policy packages based
on their scores and
select the highest
ranking one. If the
negotiation feature is
activated the agents
will perform their negotiation subprocess as well and
finally communicate their ranking score and selection
choices in real-time back to the user through the GUI
and record them in the log files.
Figure 4 depicts the Assessor agent’s simplified
negotiation subprocess. Once the negotiation subprocess
is activated (after all of the Assessor agents have
selected their initial choice), each Assessor agent will
retrieve other Assessors’ selection choices and calculate
how many other agents have selected a similar policy
package as their first choice. If this number is within an
acceptable range (e.g. more than 50% of the agents have
Start Policy Assessors
Step Algorithm
Find all of the available
packages
Rank the packages
based on the calculated
scores
End
Calculate
performance/
complexity/other
scores of the
packages based on
assessors criteria
and weighs
Communicate the
ranking scores back
Retrieve package
information
Run assessor
negotiation
algorithm
Assessor
negotiation
algorithm
Don’t change
decision, reco
to memory
End
Retrieve
other
Assessors
rankings
Count how man
other assessor
have picked th
same package
Number highe
than threshold
yes
Report back th
selection
Figure 3 Assessor agents’
simplified iteration step
algorithm
8. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
also chosen the same package), Assessors will keep their
original choice and record and report back their
selection. In case a consensus cannot be reached using
the first choice, Assessor agents will switch to their
second choice (and can continue to do so within an
acceptable range, for instance changing up to choices
that are within 15% of the original score of the first
choice) and check whether switching their selected
policy package resulted in higher level of consensus. In
this case the Assessors will retain the choice and if not,
they will revert back to their original choice.
4.5 The Role of Visualizations and the
Graphical User Interface
Due to the complexity of policy packaging, it is
important to provide visualizations of the policy
measure networks, the created policy packages with
the policy measures they contain, and the performance
of different agents with respect to the various criteria
that Assessor agent’s use. By using the data logged at
each iteration step we show various charts depicting
the evolution of the properties of the policy packages
during the formulation process.
Providing the users the ability to conveniently
change the assumptions and data during runtime, to
interact with the system and to override the parameters
as they see fit is crucial to build trust and create
transparency when dealing with complex problems.
Therefore, the ABM system has an interactive mode in
which agents rely on the user input for crucial
decisions such as deactivating a policy package or
penalizing its score because of the presence of
contradictions within the policy measures it contains.
Moreover, aside from the features that Repast
Simphony provides, a custom user panel is developed
that provides detailed information about individual
packages and the policy measures they contain.
5. Results
5.1 An Agent-Based Virtual Environment
for Policy Packaging
The developed virtual environment provides the
ability to explore and analyze different configurations
of policy measures to form policy packages. The
output of the virtual environment are the formulated
policy packages and the ability to analyze their
performance given different stakeholders views and
assessment criteria against single or multiple goals.
In our previous work we have showcased and /or
developed the following features and applications and
try to minimize their repetition here (for detailed
explanation of these features refer to [21]):
Sample policy packages and their analyses: in
figure 5 we show a sample policy package
developed for promotion of active transportation.
The green circle represents a policy package and
Start Policy Assessors
Step Algorithm
nd all of the available
packages
Rank the packages
ased on the calculated
scores
End
Calculate
performance/
complexity/other
scores of the
packages based on
assessors criteria
and weighs
Communicate the
ranking scores back
Retrieve package
information
Run assessor
negotiation
algorithm
Assessor
negotiation
algorithm
Don’t change
decision, record
to memory
End
Retrieve
other
Assessors
rankings
Count how many
other assessors
have picked the
same package
Number higher
than threshold x
yes
Report back the
selection
Check second
(or y) ranked
package higher
than threshold
No
Save current
decision to memory
and change
selected package
yes
End
Report back the
selection
No
Figure 4 Assessor Agents' simplified
negotiation subprocess
Figure 5 A sample Policy Package
9. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
the blue circles connected to it represent the policy
measures that have been selected to build the
package. The size of the green package in the
system represents the score of the policy package
based on the assessment criteria selected.
In policy packaging often very few packages
are considered and developed. The use of the system
allows for exploration and analysis of a larger
number of options in parallel and at no extra cost.
Custom user panel: A custom user panel was
developed to provide additional information about
policy packages and full details of the policy
measures within a package and their relations with
other policy measures.
Interactive mode: Some of the crucial
evaluations of the agents during runtime include
checking the policy packages cost, time required
for implementation and the existence of
contradictions or potential contradictions within a
package. In the interactive mode, instead of relying
on global parameters provided by the user, the
system relies on the user judgment. For instance in
the case of notifying the user, rejecting the addition
of a policy measure to a package or penalizing the
score of a policy package.
5.2 Policy Package Assessments
Assessor agents assess the performance of the
policy packages at each iteration step. Figure 6
presents the evolution of the scores of ten policy
packages over five iterations based on the criteria of
four Assessor agents. In each chart, the x-axis shows
the iteration steps and the y-axis represent the score
that a specific Assessor has assigned to the packages
based on its criteria. It can be seen that, different policy
packages will be chosen by different Assessors and in
two instances one package has a superior performance
to other packages (chart a and b of figure 6). We are
currently working on the implementation of the
negotiation algorithm that was presented in Section 4.
In cases when the top policy packages have similar
scores (charts c and d) the algorithm will help in
reaching consensus and to better understand the effect
of choices by the Assessor agents and whether a slight
change in score, due to uncertainties in the assessment
criteria and the qualitative nature of the answers, can
result in reaching consensus or not.
5.3 Real-time Feedback
Oneofthebenefitsofusingavirtualenvironment
for policy packaging is the provision of realtime
informationtotheuser.Forinstance,infigure7 (left)
the size of the policy packages have been scaled based
on their score under the assessment criteria and
weights used. These weights can be changed during
runtime. In the next iteration step after a change of
weights, the Assessor agents carry out the comparison
among packages, re-evaluate their package scores and
various visualizations are updated. By coupling the
ranking methodology, the selection algorithm and the
visualization of the results, it has become possible for
the user to observe immediately the effects of a change
in the input parameters on the system (in this instance
the criteria weights). Package 2 (which only contains
one policy measure) has a similar score to package 3
(with a much larger number of policy measures) when
40% of the total weight is allocated to cost (favorable
to small packages with low costs, such as package 2).
However, when cost only accounts for 20% of the total
score, package 2 is not that attractive (figure 7 (right)).
a b
c d
e
Figure 6 Example of assessment of the different policy packages based on the following criteria: (a)
cost (100%) (b) performance based on cost (40%), time (20%) and effectiveness (40%) (c) institutional
complexity (50%) and level of public unacceptability (50%) (d) level of risk (100%)
10. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
6. Conclusion and Future Work
Our efforts have focused on enhancing a previously
developed decision support system for the formulation
of policy packages with the aim of addressing some of
the policy design challenges emerging from the
complex nature of many policy problems. We have
proposed to use an ABM system as a virtual
environment for the exploration and analysis of
different policy measure configurations in order to
formulate and assess alternative policy packages.
Inspired by ideas that originate in engineering
design and complexity science, we have highlighted
the potential of an ABM system in facilitating the
design of more effective, synergistic and reinforcing
policies while avoiding internal contradiction within
the policy packages. The approach combines
techniques such as conceptual design, network
analysis, ABM, multiple criteria decision analysis and
negotiation and offers an interactive mode in which
direct user input is used for critical decisions.
The ABM policy packaging system utilizes the
information about the interaction of policy measures
alongside user preferences and the attributes of the
policy measures. The approach enhances the ability of
the policy makers to systematically consider a large
number of policy measures configure and analyze
different policy packages in a shorter period and at a
greater depth. t provides real-time feedback and a
variety of visualization options to help policy makers
grasp the implications of their choices, and can
highlight the possibility of reaching consensus among
stakeholders with different criteria and priorities in
cases where alternative policy packages have similar
performance.
The results presented in this paper demonstrate the
usefulness of adopting a systematic approach and of
using a computational methodology to address generic
complexities inherent in the formulation of policy
packages. Although we have used the approach so far
for transportation and environmental policy at national
and metropolitan scale, the approach is relevant to
other sectors such as energy water food or health and
can have different geographical scopes.
The work presented in this paper has introduced a
number of original ideas regarding the generation and
analysis of policy packages. We plan to enhance and
expand the system by adding the following features:
• Explicit consideration of geography and the integration
with Geographical Information Systems: at present, the
extent to which a policy measure is implemented is not
considered although it will affect the implementation
complexity and level of effectiveness of the measures.
• A more detailed consideration of temporal factors:
considering the effects of a failure or a delay in the
implementation of a policy measure, replacement of a
policy measure with a new policy measure with different
characteristics, or failure to take account the risks and
uncertainties that could affect the policies is important.
• Exploring the use of ontologies:The use of ontologies
[38] could be advantageous for the ABM system as it will
provide the ability to represent concepts, their properties
and relations, the use abstraction, and support reasoning.
Transition from databases can be achieved by the
development of ontologies for the specific domains under
study (transport and environmental policy in this paper).
Figure 7 Policy packages scores based on (left) default criteria weights: Cost (40%), Time (20%), and Total
effect (40%); and (right) modified weights: Cost (20%), Time (10%), Total effect (70%).
11. Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara, 2014, Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active
Transportation, 47th
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), 6-9 January 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.118
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