Several small user interface improvements made as well.

If one wants a ‘permanent’ micro-behaviour tab as before then one can click on the ‘Open’ menu item of the micro behaviour.

Other small improvements and some bug fixes are part of this release as well.

This also includes experimental support for the NetLogo URL extension that enables micro-behaviours to read web pages and to post data. More about that soon.

The ‘clocked’ switch has been removed since NetLogo provides similar functionality via the speed slider.

It is now possible for enhanced code to access local variables. E.g.

let var 42

do-every 1

[turn-right var]

Release includes many small improvements and bug fixes as well.

This has two consequences:

1. For those who launch the Behaviour Composer from within WebLearn it means they will always have the same user id and need not save a URL to continue another time
2. The ‘My Models’ panel has been greatly enhanced. The list of models can be limited to the current Basic LTI context. Models can be hidden from view. They are displayed most recent first. Shared models are displayed as well. Most of these features benefit all users not just those launching from a VLE.

There is the potential of enhancing the system so that an instructor could have access to all the models created in a class.

It would be very easy to integrate the Behaviour Composer with other VLEs or the like were the need to arise.

We focused on two main themes during the day:

1. The introduction of disease resistant pigs to farms. The issue here is that whilst these pigs still grow normally they remain infections as they may still carry a pathogen such as a virus. This could have consequences for farmers with non-resistant strains because their pigs could become infected by resistant strains.
2. Consumer choice and reflexivity. We discussed how ABM could be used to model the extent to which food selection-related behaviours change in human populations. The reflexivity theory suggests there are different cohorts within any population e.g. one where individuals are highly conditioned by close friends and family compared to others that are more reflective and formulate their preferences independently.

This is of interest to the modelling4all project because in  neatly fits into our vision where the BehaviourComposer is used to support constructionist learning not only in the classroom but in society-at-large. We discussed using ABM in focus groups to help people express their preferences and ideas in new ways e.g. asking people to configure an ABM that represents how they would prefer the world to work with respect to a wide range of variables such as price, taste, environment, health risk, seasonal availability. With ABM it might be possible to treat focus group participants less as subjects that provide data for aggregate statistical analysis, and more as designers of whole systems.

ABM makes it easier for more people to understand how their ideas might translate to a society of heterogeneous individuals that influence each other over space and time, where behaviours change as individuals learn, and importantly with respect to the ethics of sustainability – where agents might choose to act on global/system wide information rather than local signals.

For example: if cod fish stocks are about to collapse I stop buying cod (global information) even when cod is still available for a low price in shops (local signal). It is important to remember that if 20% of people refrain from buying cod the reduction in cod consumption is not necessarily the sum of the fish this group would have bought. Humans are social animals – we influence each other in complex and unpredictable ways. The effect of this 20% could actually be to increase cod consumption if shop owners notice the drop in demand and reduce prices to clear stocks. If this tactic works new customers might be introduced to cod who in turn persuade their friends and family to to buy cod. But this would be to discount the tremendous effort of Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall and the big Fish Fight.

The micro-behaviours in the new library take advantage of several new features introduced in the last year or two.

Coming soon: a complete update of the micro-behaviour library as well as moving it to http://resources.modelling4all.org.