Development of a Spatial-Experimental Laboratory for Research and Policy Analysis Related to Complex Systems

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This proposal aims to develop a unique combination of state-of-the-art spatial, visualization, and experimental capabilities within a behavioral science research laboratory facility at Indiana University. The laboratory will be multi-purpose, with a focus on understanding complex systems at multiple temporal and geographic scales. It will contribute to both research and instruction. The laboratory will enable the development of new capabilities for spatially organized agent-based modeling, three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of social systems, multi-user 3-D virtual desktop worlds, as well as the implementation of behavioral experiments and GIS technologies in social science research. The research group proposing this set of development activities is multi-disciplinary with strong records of field and laboratory research in anthropology, economics, geography, information science, political science, and psychology. An important aspect of the proposed laboratory facility is to provide the infrastructure for fostering stronger linkages among the researchers involved in this proposal. It will create opportunities for enlarging the community of scholars and students at Indiana University interested in frontier social science that incorporates spatial attributes of decision environments important for understanding human and biological dimensions of social, political, and economic decision making. The laboratory will enable faculty and students to participate in the testing of current social science theories with computer-simulated, agent-based systems as well as the tools of laboratory decision-making experiments in controlled environments. Based on the research conducted in this laboratory, we hope to develop new theories of how complex individual interactions over space and time lead to emergent properties in complex social-ecological systems. The proposed laboratory will facilitate the productivity and breadth of several ongoing and future activities: (1) a recently funded biocomplexity project integrating agent-based modeling, laboratory experiments, and GIS technologies into the study of complex land-use decisions and emergent land-use patterns; (2) research on networks of political communication related to the accessibility of political attitudes, orientations, and judgments; (3) investigation of resource allocation decision making under risk and uncertainty; (4) multi-agent experiments in the laboratory, in the field, and at multiple sites; (5) the incorporation of GIS technologies into social science research integrating key incentive and outcome effects; (6) creation of artificial 3-D environments for experimental research and policy applications; (7) paleoanthropological research on human evolution; (8) international relations; and (9) education and outreach.