September 27, 2006
Sponsored by the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences (DBS) Branch, Center for Population Research (CPR), NICHD

Location: Natcher Conference Center, NIH Campus (Room E1/E2)
Purpose: In studying human populations, a long standing challenge in demography has been to integrate what is labeled the “macro” (e.g., characteristics of an entire community or population, such as a disease prevalence) and the “micro” (e.g., individual attributes and behaviors, such as those related to disease risk).  In particular, research on the mechanisms that translate behavior at the individual level to outcomes at the population level has been limited by methodological constraints.  Recently, demographers have begun to explore the potential for a computationally intensive simulation method called agent-based modeling, which permits researchers to explicitly model the macro-level consequences of individual-level attributes and behaviors based on a set of assumptions about intervening mechanisms, and then observe the fit to empirically observed patterns.  This workshop will feature speakers on how agent-based modeling could contribute to demographic research across a variety of population-based topics.

For Information:
Dr. Michael Spittel, DBS Branch, CPR, NICHD
Tel: (301) 435-6983
E-mail: spittelm@mail.nih.gov