Agent-Based Modelling of Worker Exploitation: Slave from the Machine

Description

This book illustrates the potential for computer simulation in the study of modern slavery and worker abuse, and by extension in all social issues. It lays out a philosophy of how agent-based modelling can be used in the social sciences. In addressing modern slavery, Chesney considers precarious work that is vulnerable to abuse, like sweat-shop labour and prostitution, and shows how agent modelling can be used to study, understand and fight abuse in these areas. He explores the philosophy, application and practice of agent modelling through the popular and free software NetLogo. This topical book is grounded in the technology needed to address the messy, chaotic, real world problems that humanity faces—in this case the serious problem of abuse at work—but equally in the social sciences which are needed to avoid the unintended consequences inherent to human responses. It includes a short but extensive NetLogo guide which readers can use to quickly learn this software and go on to develop complex models. This is an important book for students and researchers of computational social science and others interested in agent-based modelling. Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Contents About the Author Part I Philosophy 1 Computing Slavery 1.1 Agent Modelling 1.2 Slavery 1.3 What Can Agent Models Offer? 1.4 A Simple Model of Employment 1.5 Employment Model Code Further Reading References 2 A Philosophy of Agent-Based Modelling 2.1 Context 2.2 Social Science 2.3 Statement of Agent Modelling Philosophy 2.4 Simulation as Experiment 2.5 Agents as Subjects 2.6 The Role of Theory and Data 2.7 Revisiting What Agent Models Can Offer 2.8 What Agent Models Can Offer in the Fight Against Slavery 2.9 Scale Further Reading References 3 The Emergence of Slavery 3.1 Ajani's Choice 3.2 The Agent Modelling Paradox 3.3 Implementing Ajani's Choice 3.4 A Philosophy of Agent Coding 3.5 Boundaries 3.6 The Wonky Die 3.7 Analyses 3.8 Ajani's Choice Code 3.9 Extensions Further Reading References 4 A Culture of Acceptance 4.1 Benefactors or Slavers? 4.2 Modelling Culture 4.3 The Importance of Being Discrete 4.4 A Culture of Slavery 4.5 The Nature of Culture 4.6 Culture Code 4.7 Diffusion of Good Working Conditions 4.8 Namrata's Family 4.9 A Diffusion Mechanism 4.10 Implementing Namrata's Family 4.11 Analysis Further Reading References Part II Application 5 Human Trafficking 5.1 The People Trade 5.2 Hoping for Arrest 5.3 Modelling Grooming 5.4 Nonlinear Functions 5.5 Model Rules 5.6 The Scale of Mathematics 5.7 Implementing Hoping for Arrest 5.8 Results 5.9 Moving Between Brothels 5.10 Moving Between Brothels Code 5.11 Analysis and Discussion Further Reading References 6 Identifying Abuses 6.1 Shadow Accounts 6.2 Approach 6.3 Clean and Wax 6.4 The Clean and Wax Model 6.5 Analysis 6.6 Discussion 6.7 Clean and Wax Code Further Reading References 7 How to Free a Slave 7.1 Unchained Supply 7.2 Modelling the Fair Food Program 7.3 Exploratory Research 7.4 Exploring the Fair Food Program Model 7.5 Discussion 7.6 Fair Food Program Code Further Reading References Part III Practice 8 Designing an Agent Model 8.1 Overview 8.2 Process of Design 8.3 Verification 8.4 Validation and Semantic Errors Further Reading References 9 `Statistics-for' and `Statistics-with' Agent Models 9.1 `Statistics-for' 9.2 Sampling 9.3 `Statistics-with' 9.4 Investigating National Differences 9.5 Bespoke Statistical Tests 9.6 Effect Size 9.7 Multiple Variables 9.8 A Summary of Running Experiments on Agent Models Further Reading References 10 Final Thoughts Further Reading References A NetLogo Language Guide Environment Comments Global Variables Breeds Agent Attributes Housekeeping Creating Agents Asking Agents and Agentsets Moving Agents Around Their Environment Removing Agents Conditions Loops Agent Memory Local Variables Procedures Output to File BehaviorSpace Links Seed Number Who Number The R Extension Built in Agent Attributes Getting Help B R Code for the Bespoke Statistics Test Reference Index