arXiv subjects

Sean Gourley

Publications and source records attributed to Sean Gourley.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2008

Sampling bias in systems with structural heterogeneity and limited internal diffusion

Complex systems research is becomingly increasingly data-driven, particularly in the social and biological domains. Many of the systems from which sample data are collected feature structural heterogeneity at the mesoscopic scale (i.e. communities) and limited inter-community diffusion. Here we show that the interplay between these two features can yield a significant bias in the global characteristics inferred from the data. We present a general framework to quantify this bias, and derive an explicit corrective factor for a wide class of systems. Applying our analysis to a recent high-profile survey of conflict mortality in Iraq suggests a significant overestimate of deaths.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2006

Effects of decision-making on the transport costs across complex networks

We analyze the effects of agents' decisions on the creation of congestion on a centralized network with ring-and-hub topology. We show that there are two classes of agents each displaying a distinct set of behaviours. The dynamics of the system are driven by an interplay between the formation of, and transition between, unique stable states that arise as the network is varied. We show how the flow of objects across the network can be understood in terms of the ordering and allocation of strategies. Our results show that the existence of congestion in a network is a dynamic process that is as much dependent on the agents' decisions as it is on the structure of the network itself.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2004

Theory of Collective Dynamics in Multi-Agent Complex Systems

We discuss a crowd-based theory for describing the collective behavior in Complex Systems comprising multi-agent populations competing for a limited resource. These systems -- whose binary versions we refer to as B-A-R (Binary Agent Resource) systems -- have a dynamical evolution which is determined by the aggregate action of the heterogeneous, adaptive agent population. Accounting for the strong correlations between agents' strategies, yields an accurate analytic description of the system's dynamics.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗